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An Introduction to the Book of Lamentations

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I. TITLE OF THE BOOK:

A. Hebrew: The title to the book in Hebrew is hkya (‘Ekah). This is the Hebrew term for “How,” “Alas,” or “Oh” that appears as the first word in the Hebrew text in 1:1; 2:1; 4:1. This word was commonly used in Israelite funeral dirges (cf. 2 Sam 1:19; Isa 42:12)1

B. Greek: The title to the book in Greek is QRHNOI (Threnos) meaning “lament.”

C. Latin: The title to the book in the Latin Vulgate was a transliteration for the title “lament” (Threni) and was subtitled Id est Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophatae which became the basis for our English title “Lamentations.”

II. DATE 586 B.C. and shortly after

A. Chapters 1--4 suggest an intensity which would have been right after the fall of Jerusalem

B. Chapter 5 may describe a time when the “sharp pains of defeat had dulled into the chronic ache of captivity”, but it need not necessarily describe a later period (of up to 530 according to LaSor et al)2

III. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

A. This collection of songs was composed after the fall of the city of Jerusalem in 587/6 B.C.

B. Perhaps this time should be identified with Jeremiah 39:1-18.3Historical accounts are in 2 Kings 24--25 and 2 Chronicles 36.

IV. AUTHOR: Probably Jeremiah the Prophet

A. External Evidence:

1. The Greek Septuagint (LXX) ascribes the book to the prophet Jeremiah--”QRHNOI IEREMIOU.”

2. Jewish tradition ascribed the book of Lamentations to the prophet Jeremiah4

3. The Latin Vulgate ascribed the book to Jeremiah--Id est Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae

4. The early church fathers, Origen and Jerome, understood without question that Jeremiah was the author of Lamentations5

B. Internal Evidence:

1. Jeremiah and Lamentations both convey a similar tone and employ similar vocabulary6

2. The main basis for rejecting Jeremiah as the author of the book is style:

a. Some would argue that since its poetic style is different than that of Jeremiah that it should be assigned to “an unknown eyewitness of the fall of Jerusalem, since the text itself records nothing of authorship”7
But why could not Jeremiah write in a poetic style?

b. Arguments which affirm that Jeremiah and Lamentations do not share a similar view point are not built upon sound exegesis8

C. Conclusion
One cannot be dogmatic about the author of the book of Jeremiah, but it seems reasonable to follow tradition in this matter and identify its author as probably being Jeremiah the prophet9

V. CANONICAL PLACEMENT OF THE BOOK

A. The Hebrew Scriptures were probably originally canonized into a two-fold division: the Law and the Prophets10

B. By around the second century B.C.11 a three-fold division of the Hebrew Scriptures arose: The Law, The Prophets, and The Writings12

1. The three-fold division included the same books as the two-fold division

2. There are several possible reasons for a three-fold division:13

a. A distinction was made between books which were written by men who held the prophetic office, and men who only had the prophetic gift

b. Some at a later date may have felt that those books which were not written by “prophets” were not fully canonical

c. A more practical purpose was served by the topical and festal14 significance rather than by the two-fold categories

C. The Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (The Septuagint or LXX c. 280-150 B.C.) divided the Old Testament according to subject matter which is the basis of the modern four-fold classification of the: five books of Law, twelve books of History, five books of Poetry, and seventeen books of Prophecy15

VI. Literary Style:

A. The entire book of Lamentations is poetic in its form

B. Each chapter of the book is comprised of a poem making five poems in all

C. The poems use the literary style of an acrostic where the poem is built around the alphabet16

D. The Structure of Lamentations is as follows:17

1. Chapter 1
a
(all verse 1)
b
(all verse 2)
Twenty-two verses--sixty-six lines

2. Chapter 2
Same as chapter 1

3. Chapter 3
a
(verse 1)
a
(verse 2)
a
(verse 3)
b
(verse 4)
b
(verse 5)
b
(verse 6)
Sixty=six line (one per verse).
Each line begins with the appropriate letter

4. Chapter 4
Same as chapters 1--2 except that there are two lines per stanza rather than three

5. Chapter 5
The alphabet is not used, but there are twenty-two lines. Verses 19-20, the greatest confession of the book, may be a mini-acrostic. Aleph to Kaph (first half of alphabet) and Lamedh to Tau (second half of the alphabet).
Continuing Heater writes, “The chapters are not uniform in their use of the alphabet. Chapters one and two are the same: there are sixty-six lines (thee [sic] lines per verse) and each verse begins with a letter of the alphabet. Chapter one also breaks the sense in the middle of the alphabet. Thus A to K is the author speaking of the awful fall of Jerusalem. L-Z (L-T in Hebrew) personify Zion who speaks of her desolation.
Chapter 3 (the middle chapter) intensifies the use of the alphabet. There are still sixty-six lines, but each line begins with a letter of the alphabet. The subject matter of chapter 3 is also somewhat general. The writer expresses his dismay, his contrition and his hope of restoration. This then is the ‘peak’ chapter in the book.
But just as crescendo can express emphasis, so can dimuendo, and this is what takes place in the remainder of the book. Chapter 4 reverts to the pattern of chapters 1--2, with the difference that there are only two lines per stanza instead of three. In this chapter the writer relives the agony of the destruction.
The volume of the composition drops to a whisper in chapter 5. Here there are no letters used at all, although the 22 lines represent the 22 letter alphabet. Moreover, verses 19-20 are themselves a mini-acrostic used to express the highest praise for Yahweh in the book followed by a tentative, but hopeful cry for help.
Yahweh is sovereign!
A--Thou, O Lord, dost rule for ever;
K--Thy throne is from generation to generation
But O Lord do not abandon us!!
L--Why dost thou forget us forever;
Z--Why dost Thou forsake us so long?”18

VII. PURPOSES FOR THE BOOK

A. To provide an emotional postscript to the book of Jeremiah

B. To express grief over the fall of Jerusalem because of her sin19

C. To remind the readers that “sin, in spite of all its allurement and excitement, carries with it heavy weights of sorrow, grief, misery, barrenness, and pain.”20
Note the Parallels between Lamentations and Deuteronomy21

Lamentations

Deuteronomy

1:3

She dwells among the nations but she has found no rest.

28:65

And among those nations you shall find no rest.

1:5a

Her adversaries have become the head

28:44

He shall be the head, you shall be the tail

1:5c

Her little ones have gone away as captives before the adversary.

28:32

Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people.

1:6c

They have fled without strength before the pursuer.

28:25

You shall flee seven way before them

1:18c

My virgins and my young men have gone into captivity

28:41

You shall have sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity

2:15

All who pass along the way clap their hands in derision at you

28:37

You shall become a horror, a proverb, a taunt among all the people where the Lord will drive you.

2:20

Should women eat their offspring?

28:53-57

Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body ....

2:21

On the ground in the streets lie young and old

28:50

...who shall have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young

4:10

The hands of compassionate women boiled their own children

28:56-57

...the refined and delicate women among you ... she shall eat them secretly (i.e., her children) for lack of anything else ....

5:2b

Our houses were given to aliens

28:30

You shall build a house, but you shall not live in it.

5:5

There is no rest for us.

28:65

And among those nations you shall find no rest

5:10

... the burning heat of famine ....

28:24

... the rain of your land powder and dust ....

5:11

Women of Zion ravished.

28:30

Who shall have no respect for the old ....

5:12

Elders were not respected

28:50

Who shall have no respect for the old ....

5:18

foxes prowl in Zion

28:26

And your carcasses shall be food to all birds of the sky and to the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away.

D. To “offer reproof, instruction, and hope” to the survivors of fallen Jerusalem22

E. To “chasten Israel that they recognize the righteousness of God’s dealings with them, and that in a spirit of repentance they cast themselves once more upon His mercy”23


1 Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 334. LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush affirm that Some rabbis also used the name Qinot, meaning 'funeral dirges' or 'lamentations (Old Testament Survey, 617).

2 LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush, Old Testament Survey, 617.

3 Hill and Walton write, The despairing tone of the petition for national renewal in the closing lines of the final poem (5:19-22) indicates that the writer apparently knew nothing of Jehoiachin's discharge from prison and its implications for the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecies for covenant restoration in Israel (30--33) (Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 334-35).

4 The Aramaic Targum of Jonathan, The Targum at Jeremiah 1:1; Talmud B. Bat 15a; LXX and Vulgate headings. The LXX introduction which reads [AND it came to pass, after Israel was taken captive, and Jerusalem made desolate, that Jeremias [ jIeremiva] sat weeping, and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and said] (The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament, with an English Translation; and with Various Readings and Critical Notes, 972).

Hill and Walton write, This association was probably based on a misunderstanding of the statement in 2 Chronicles 35:25 that 'Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah' (Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 376-77). But this is not a necessary conclusion.

5 Ibid., 377.

6 See Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 374 for a discussion of some of this style.

7 Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 334.

8 See the discussion by Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 374-75.

9 Archer writes, If Jeremiah was not the composer, whoever wrote it must have been a contemporary of his and witnessed the same pitiless destruction meted out to Zion by its Chaldean conquerors (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 374).

10 The two-fold division is argued upon (1) the way in which Moses' Law is referred to as a unit throughout the Scriptures, (2) the way in which the historical books are linked together as a unit, (3) the reference in Daniel to the Law and the books [9:2], and (4) the recognition of the Former prophetic books by the Latter (See Geisler and Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, pp. 148-161).

11 Prologue to Ecclesiasticus (c. 132 B.C.), Jesus in Luke 24:44 (A.D. 30) Josephus, Against Apion, I.8 (A.D. 37-100).

12 The Writings include: (1) Poetical Books--Psalms, Proverbs, Job, (2) Five Rolls (Megilloth)--Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Esther, Ecclesiastes, (3) Historical Books--Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles

Sometimes Ruth was attached to Judges, and Lamentations was attached to Jeremiah thereby making the Hebrew canon comprised of 22 books rather than the more usual 24 books (see Geisler and Nix, General, pp. 18-19).

13 Critical scholars assume that the three-fold division reflects dates of canonization in accordance with their dates of compositions--Law (400 B.C.), Prophets (c. 200 B.C.), Writings (c. A.D. 100). However, this thesis is untenable in light of early reports of a three-fold division (c. 132 B.C.; see above). See Geisler and Nix, General, p. 151.

This critical approach is suggested by La Sor et al as an explanation for the placement of Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, Esther, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes when they write, Essentially, the purpose of the Writings as a whole was to collect those sacred books whose purpose, character, or date excluded them form the collections of law and prophecy (Old, p. 508-509).

14 Song of Solomon (eighth day of Passover), Ruth (second day of Weeks, or Pentecost), Lamentations (ninth day of Ab, in mourning for the destruction of Solomon's temple by Babylon in 587 B.C. and by the Romans in A.D. 70), Ecclesiastes (third day of Tabernacles), Esther (Purim).

15 Law = Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

History = Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, I Chronicles, II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

Poetry = Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

Prophets/Major = Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel

Prophets/Minor = Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

For a more extensive overview see Geisler and Nix, General, pp. 17-25.

16 Heater writes, Remember that the Hebrew alphabet has twenty-two letters beginning with A and ending with T. Chapters one and two consist of twenty-two stanzas, the first word of each beginning with the appropriate letter of the alphabet. Chapter three also has twenty-two stanzas but each of the three lines of each stanza begins with the appropriate letter. Chapter four goes back to the pattern found in chapters one and two with the exception that it has two-line stanzas rather than three. The fifth chapter has twenty-two stanzas (or lines in this case), the lines do not begin with successive letters of the alphabet.

One possible reason for acrostic poetry may be to aid the memory, but if that were its only purpose, one might expect more Scripture to have been written in that style. It is primarily an alternate style of writing poetry and is thus a piece of artistry (Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Lamentations, unpublished class notes in seminar in the preexilic Old Testament prophets [Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990], 147).

One bit of significance from this observation is made by Archer concerning chapter three: The first 18 verses of this chapter express mournful lamentation and portray God as cruelly severe, but then verses 19-39 abruptly change to a mood of hope and praise to God for His faithfulness and compassion. This is certainly the type of 'discrepancy' which critics have utilized in other books of the Old Testament to demonstrate a difference in authorship. In this particular chapter, however, no theory of multiple sources is possible, for the whole composition is firmly and inescapably locked together by the acrostic pattern in which it is written. Hence this chapter may be taken as irrefutable proof that it was possible for an ancient Hebrew author quite suddenly to shift from one mood to another and express sentiments that markedly contrast with each other (even though they are not actually contradictory) (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 375).

17 Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Lamentations, unpublished class notes in seminar in the preexilic Old Testament prophets [Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990], 148.

18 Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Lamentations, unpublished class notes in seminar in the preexilic Old Testament prophets [Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990], 148-49.

19 Hill and Walton write, The prophets had forewarned Judah of the impending catastrophe for two centuries (cf. 2 Kings 24:3; 21:12). Alas, the repetition of the threat of divine judgment dulled the ears of the people and insulated them against the idea of repentance. Moreover, the delay of Yahweh's visitation had lulled the nation into a false sense of security (e.g., Jer 6:13-14; 7:1-4). Lamentations bewails the day, warned of by the prophets, in which Yahweh would become 'like an enemy,' destroying Israel 'without pity' (Lam. 2:2, 5) (Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 335).

20 Charles H. Dyer, Lamentations, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty: Old Testament, 1207.

21 Martin writes, Such parallelism must be more than an amazing coincidence. The author of Lamentations was making the point that the judgment described in Deuteronomy 28 had come upon the nation. Therefore, that judgment, although lamentable, was not surprising. It was the just consequence of the actions which had been performed by the people. It was due to their disobedience (John A Martin, An Outline of Lamentations, unpublished class notes in 304 preexlic and exilic prophets, (Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1983), 5-6). See also Charles H. Dyer, Lamentations, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty: Old Testament, 1209.

22 Ibid.

23 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 373. Childs writes, The canonical shaping of the material has not supplied a 'happy ending', but it has moved the problem into its proper confessional context from which the community of faith must continue to struggle with it own history before God, as it always has in the past (Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, 595-96).

Continuing, Childs writes, The effect of the canonical process on the book of Lamentations was not one of dehistoricizing the fully time-conditioned response of the survivors of the destruction of Jerusalem. Rather, the response was brought in to relationship with a dimension of faith which provided a religious context from which to seek meaning in suffering. ONe of the results of incorporating the events of the city's destruction into Israel's traditional terminology of worship was to establish a semantic bridge between the historical situation of the early sixth century and the language of faith which struggles with divine judgment. For this reason the book of Lamentations serves every successive generation of the suffering faithful for whom history has become unbearable (Ibid., 196).

Finally he writes, By failure to take seriously the canonical shape of the book, the actual historical response to the destruction by those who treasured Lamentations as scripture has been overlooked. The major theological issue at stake in the canonical book is the conflict between those who thought that the destruction of Jerusalem had rendered the truth of Israel's traditional faith in God's promise meaningless, and those who confessed that in spite of the enormous rupture caused by Israel's sin, the avenue of God's renewed mercy, even if withdrawn momentarily, was still open to the faithful as it had been in the past (Ibid.).

Related Topics: Introductions, Arguments, Outlines

An Introduction to the Book of Ezekiel

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I. TITLE OF THE BOOK:

A. In Hebrew: In Hebrew the book is titled laqzhy meaning God strengthens

B. In Greek: In Greek the book is titled IESEKIHL; the Hebrew is simply transliterated.

II. DATE: 593/2 to 562 B.C.

A. Ezekiel's prophecies seem to be dated around the exile of king Jehoiachin (597 B.C.)

Thirteen of Ezekiel's message are dated precisely to the day, month and year of King Jehoiachin's exile to Babylon. The following chart lays out the general chronological arrangement of these prophecies with three exceptions (29:1, 17; 32:1) all of which were oracles against Egypt and thus placed together with the other Egyptian prophecies:1

Chariot Vision

1:1-3

June 593 B.C.

Call to be a Watchman

3:16

June 593

Temple Vision

8:1

August/September 492

Discourse with Elders

20:1

August 591

Second Siege of Jerusalem

24:1

January 588

Judgment on Tyre

26:1

March/April 587/586

Judgment on Egypt

29:1

January 587

Judgment on Egypt

29:17

April 571

Judgment on Egypt

30:20

April 587

Judgment on Egypt

31:1

June 587

Lament over Pharaoh

32:1

March 585

Lament over Egypt

32:17

April 586

Fall of Jerusalem

33:21

December/January 586/85

New Temple Vision

40:1

April 573

B. Ezekiel was called to his prophetic ministry in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin--593/92 B.C.

C. Ezekiel's last discourse was dated in the twenty-seventh year of Jehoiachin's exile--571/70 B.C. (29:17)

D. Ezekiel never mentions the release of Jehoiachin in 560 B.C.

E. Therefore, it reasonable to conclude that Ezekiel's messages cover the period from 593/92 to 571/70 B.C. and were written down in present form from 571/70 B.C. to 562 B.C.

III. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND2

A. Josiah brought about the final spiritual revival for Judah when he came to the throne in 622 B.C.

B. The Assyrian Empire Fell

1. The Assyrian power rose with Ashurnasirpal II (884-859 B.C.) and Shalmaneser II (859-824 B.C.)

2. Tiglath-pileser III (Pul in the Scriptures) began a group of conquerors who took Syria and Palestine including Shalmaneser V (727-722 B.C. who began the deportation of Samaria), Sargon II (722-705 B.C. who completed the deportation of Samaria), Sennacherib (704-581 B.C. who attacked king of Judah, Hezekiah [Josiah's father]), and Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C. who led campaigns against Egypt)

3. Esarhaddon's son, Ashurbanipal (669-631) ruled much of the upper Egyptian city of Thebes, but his decline and that of Assyria's soon followed

4. Nineveh, the capital, was destroyed in 612 B.C.

5. Assyria's army was defeated in 609 B.C. at Haran

6. What was left of Assyria's army went to Carchemish (just west of the Euphrates River and north of Aram)

C. The Neo-Babylonian Empire Arose

1. Merodach Baladan was a Chaldean and father of Nabopolassar and grandfather of Nebuchadnezzar. Merodach Baladan sent ambassadors to Hezekiah (Isa 39; 2 Ki 20:12-19)

2. In October 626 B.C. Nabopolassar defeated the Assyrians outside of Babylon

3. In 616 B.C. Nabopolassar expanded his kingdom, and in 612 B.C. he joined with the Medes and destroyed Nineveh

D. A Realignment of Power in 609 B.C. and later

1. Judah: When Assyria fell and Babylon arose Judah, under Josiah, removed itself from Assyria's control and existed as an autonomous state until 609 B.C. when it lost a battle with Egypt on the plain of Megiddo

2. Egypt:

a. Attempted to expand its presence into Palestine with Assyria's troubles

b. Egypt joined with Assyria to fight the Babylonians at Haran

1) Judah tried to stop Egypt's (Pharaoh Neco II) alliance but was defeated on the plain of Megiddo with the loss of their king, Josiah (cf. 2 Chron 35:20-24)

2) The Assyrians lost their battle with Babylon (even with the help of Egypt) and disappeared as a power in the world, and Egypt retreated to Carchemish as the dividing line between Egypt and Babylonian

3) Egypt ruled Judah:

a) Egypt (Necho) replaced Josiah's son, Jehoahaz, after three months with Jehoiakim (who was another son of Josiah) as a vassal king (2 Ki 23:34-35)

b) Egypt (Necho) plundered Judah's treasuries

c) Egypt (Necho) took Jehoahaz into captivity in Egypt

E. In 605 B.C. other changes of power occurred:

1. Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish

2. Judah's king, Jehoiakim, changed his loyalty to the Babylonians rather than the Egyptians and became Nebuchadnezzar's vassal king (2 Ki. 24:1)

3. Nebuchadnezzar had to return to Babylon with the death of his father, Nebopolassar

4. Nebuchadnezzar solidified his rule by appointing vassal kings and taking hostages; Daniel was taken as a part of this deportation (Dan 1:1-6)

F. In 601 Egypt defeated the Babylonians

1. Judah's king, Jehoiakim, switched loyalty from Babylonia to the Egyptians (2 Ki 24:1)

2. On December of 598 Babylonia made an attack on Jerusalem leading to Jehoiakim's death and the surrender of the city by his successor, Jehoiachin, in March of 597

3. Nebuchadnezzar, replaced Jehoiachin after only three months of reign, deported him and 10,000 other leaders from the city, looted the city, and placed Zedekiah Judah's vassal king (cf. 2 Ki 24:12-16)

G. Ezekiel was one of those deported during this second deportation (597 B.C.). He would begin his prophetic ministry five years later (Ezk 1:2; 8:1 etc.)

1. He lived in Tel Aviv beside the Kebar River (Grand Canal) in Babylon 3:15

2. Dyer writes, During these final years Ezekiel was ministering in Babylon, predicting the coming collapse of Jerusalem. His message fell on deaf ears till word of the city's destruction was received in Babylon. The fall of the city prompted a change in Ezekiel's prophetic message. Before Jerusalem fell, Ezekiel's message focused on Judah's forthcoming destruction because of her sin. After Jerusalem's fall, Ezekiel's message centered on Judah's future restoration.3

IV. AUTHOR: The Prophet Ezekiel, a priest and son of Buzi (1:3)

A. External Evidence:

1. Ezekiel was considered to be the author of this book until the Twentieth Century when in 1924 Gustav Hoelscher first questioned authorship based upon questionable internal evidence4

2. Therefore, external evidence is almost unanimously in favor of the prophet Ezekiel as the book's author

B. Internal Evidence

1. The autobiographical style of the book supports Ezekiel as the author of the book (I, me, my are in almost every chapter of the book; cf. chapter 2:1-10)

2. The book has a uniformity of language, style, theme, and message which support the theory of a single author

3. Hill and Walton write, The lack of strict chronological ordering of the literature may argue in favor of Ezekiel as the compiler of the oracles, since it is very likely another editor would have been more concerned with the deliberate sequencing of the dated materials5

V. CANONICAL PLACEMENT

A. In the Hebrew canon Ezekiel is placed following Isaiah and Jeremiah among the Major Prophets

B. In the Greek canon, which the English arrangement follows, Ezekiel is placed after Lamentations which was associated with the Prophet Jeremiah

C. Hill and Walton write, While Ezekiel was always included in the Hebrew canon, later Jewish scholars disputed the book's canonical value. At issue were seeming discrepancies between the prophet's understanding of temple ritual and the prescriptions of Mosaic law (e.g., a disagreement in the number and kinds of animals sacrificed at the New Moon festival--cf. Num. 28:11 and Ezek. 46:6). The rabbis eventually restricted the public and private use of Ezekiel, commenting that the ultimate harmonization of the difficulties must await 'the coming of Elijah' (cf. Mal 4:5).6

VI. LITERARY STYLE

A. There are many different Speech Types which Ezekiel employs to communicate his message. The following chart lists some of them out7

Judgment oracle

Usually introduced by formula, I am against you

21:1-5

Aftermath or restoration oracle

Reversing judgment formula, I am for you

34:11-15

Command formula

Especially Son of man, set your face ...

6:2-3; 20:46-47

Woe oracle of indictment

 

13:3-7; 34:2-6

Demonstration oracle

Usually containing because ... therefore clauses

13:8-9; 16:36-42

Disputation oracle

IN which popular proverb is recited and then refuted by prophetic discourse (e.g., sour grapes proverb)

18:1-20; cf. 12:22-25

Lament
Over Tyre
Over Pharaoh

 

26:15-18

32:1-16

Wailing lament

Introduced by wail

30:1-4

32:17-21

Riddles, parables, allegories

E.g., parable of the vine Allegories of the eagle and cedars, lion, boiling pot etc.

15

Chaps. 17, 19, 23, 24, 27

B. The book has a basic chronological arrangement (unlike Jeremiah)

C. The major units of the book follow the chronological flow of Ezekiel's life and naturally relate to the message of the book:

1. Chapters 1--24 speak of judgment since the fall of Jerusalem is coming

2. Chapters 25--32 emphasize judgment upon the nations after the fall of Jerusalem for either being participants in or gleeful onlookers to 'the day of Jacob's trouble'8

3. Chapters 33-48 speak of the hope of restoration for the people held in captivity after the fall of Jerusalem.

VII. PURPOSES FOR THE BOOK

A. To speak locally to the exiles whom Jeremiah addresses by letter (e.g., Jer. 29), as people who continue to listen to false prophets and practice idolatry. The contents of Ezekiel indicate that little has changed in the attitude of the Jewish people who have come to Babylon9

B. To outline the blessing that follows necessary judgment10

C. To emphasize God's sovereignty which will bring about judgment and restoration11

D. To warn Israel as a watchman of imminent judgment

E. To stress the need for individual responsibility and national accountably before God12


1 Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 343.

2 This was adapted from Charles H. Dyer, Jeremiah, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty: Old Testament, 1125-27, and Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Jeremiah, unpublished class notes in seminar in the preexilic Old Testament prophets (Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990), 101-105.

3 Charles H. Dyer, Ezekiel, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty: Old Testament, 1226. Hill and Walton also emphasize the couture of the book with the development of Ezekiel's message (Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 342-43).

4 Gustav Hoelscher, Hesekiel: Der Dicter und das Buch, BZAW 39 (1924).

S. R. Driver wrote early in the Twentieth Century that No critical question arises in connection with the authorship of the book, the whole from beginning to end bearing unmistakably the stamp of a single mind (Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament, 297.

See Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 377-79 for a more indepth discussion; also see John B. Taylor, Ezekiel: An Introduction & Commentary, 13-20.

An exception to this might be that later Jewish tradition attributed the compilation of Ezekiel's oracles to the men of the Great Synagogue (see also Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 339-40).

5 Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 343.

6 Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 339. For a fuller discussion of this problem see Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 381-384. He provides a better resolution when he writes, In view of the foregoing considerations, the present writer has come to the view that a moderately literal interpretation of these chapters [40--48] is attended by less serious difficulties than a figurative interpretation. Much caution should be exercised in pressing details, but in the broad outline it may be reasonably deduced that in a coming age all the promises conveyed by the angel to Ezekiel will be fulfilled in the glorious earthly kingdom with which the drama of redemption is destined to close. The sacrificial offerings mentioned in these chapters are to be understood as devoid of propitiatory or atoning character, since Christ's sacrifice provided an atonement which was sufficient for all time (Heb 10:12). Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus ordained the sacrament of holy communion as an ordinance to be practiced even after His crucifixion, and He specified that it was to observed until His second coming (1 Co 11:26: 'till he come'). By premillennial definition, the millennium is to follow His second advent. If, then, there was a sacramental form practiced during the church age, why should there not be a new form of sacrament carried on during the millennium itself? (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 383).

7 Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 345.

8 Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 343.

9 Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Ezekiel, unpublished class notes in seminar in the preexilic Old Testament prophets [Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990], 202.

10 Whereas Jeremiah's primary emphasis was to warn of impending judgment (with a slight focus upon coming restoration), Ezekiel was emphasizing that necessary judgment on sin established a foundation for future national blessing. Future national blessing is the emphasis of Ezekiel. The opening vision in Jeremiah emphasizes the certain judgment which will come through man (the almond/cauldron), but the opening vision in Ezekiel emphasizes God in his glory in order to reassure him that He will carry out necessary judgment (4--32) and bring his nation subsequent blessing (33--38). While Judgment is the climax in Jeremiah, it is the foundation upon which righteous blessing builds in Ezekiel.

Dyer states it this way, Ezekiel's purpose in writing chapters 1--32 was to show both the necessity and inevitability of Judah's fall to Babylon because of her sin against God's holy character. After the fall of Jerusalem Ezekiel was recommissioned to show the necessity and inevitability of Judah's restoration to fellowship by God (chaps. 33-48) (Charles H. Dyer, Notes on the Book of Ezekiel, [Unpublished class notes in 304 Preexlic and Exilic Prophets, Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1993], 4).

11 Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 344.

12 Ralph H. Alexander, Ezekiel. The Expositor's Bible Commentary, VI:744.

Related Topics: Introductions, Arguments, Outlines

An Introduction to the Book of Daniel

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I. TITLE OF THE BOOK: In both the Hebrew and Greek canons the book is titled after its main character, Daniel.

A. Hebrew: laynd meaning ‘God is Judge.’

B. Greek: DANIHL

II. CANONICAL PLACEMENT OF THE BOOK

A. Hebrew:

1. The Hebrew Scriptures were probably originally canonized into a two-fold division: the Law and the Prophets1

2. By around the second century B.C.2 a three-fold division of the Hebrew Scriptures arose: The Law, The Prophets, and The Writings3

a. The three-fold division included the same books as the two-fold division

b. There are several possible reasons for a three-fold division:4

1) A distinction was made between books which were written by men who held the prophetic office, and men who only had the prophetic gift

2) Some at a later date may have felt that those books which were not written by “prophets” were not fully canonical

3) A more practical purpose was served by the topical and festal5 significance rather than by the two-fold categories

3. In the Hebrew canon Daniel is not included among the prophets

4. In the Hebrew canon Daniel is included among the writings with the “historical” books. This emphasis may well have been appropriate for the following reasons:

a. Daniel is not in the role of a prophet who is speaking to the nation to repent of their ethical misdeeds

b. Although Daniel certainly wrote down prophetic visions, they are a message to the nation to enable them to walk through their history with the confidence that God is working among them even though they are being dominated by the Gentiles. If historical literature is emphasizing a revelation (record) of the sovereign work of God in history, then Daniel certainly applies because the prophetic visions are also a record (in advance) of the sovereign work of God in history as the Gentiles overrun Israel (who is in sin), but as Israel is also going to be ultimately delivered. As in other historical literature, this book would enable Israel to walk more faithfully with God when they saw His inclusive plan for them.

c. Perhaps the Masoretes did not consider Daniel to be a prophet since he was not appointed or ordained as a prophet in the text in the usual way; rather he was a servant of the government

d. Much of Daniel’s writing does not bear the character of prophecy, but rather of history

B. Greek & English:

1. The Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (The Septuagint or LXX c. 280-150 B.C.) divided the Old Testament according to subject matter which is the basis of the modern four-fold classification of the: five books of Law, twelve books of History, five books of Poetry, and seventeen books of Prophecy6

2. Daniel was a part of the major prophets

3. Our English editions follow this division

4. This is also a logical placement of Daniel becuase of the many prophetic visions in the book

III. DATE OF THE BOOK7

A. Late--Second Century (soon after 168 B.C.; usually 165 B.C.)8

1. Those who hold to a late date see this work as “historical fiction” designed to “encourage the resistance movement against the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes”9

2. Some argue that Daniel must have been late because it was placed among the “writings” of the Hebrew Scriptures, but many of the books in the “writings” are very old like Job, Davidic psalms, and Solomonic writings. Therefore, a placement in the “writings” does not determine a late date10

3. The date of 168 matches the evidence spoken of in Daniel 11:31-39; therefore, it is assumed that the book must have been written soon after that time

4. Most who hold to a late date for Daneil emphasize it as being apocalyptic literature:

a. While most all would agree that there are apocolyptic elementes to Daniel, this does not require that it also be modled after all aspects of apocalyptic literature

b. Some aspects of apocalyptic literature which Daniel is accused of are:

1) It is pseudepigraphic--a false author is attached to the book to give it credibility

2) The prophecies are vaticinia ex eventu or “prophecies-after-the-event”

5. The sensational events (3; 5; 6) are necessarily writing conventions like those which were employed by noncanonical literature of the intertestamental period

6. Often there is a hermeneutical presupposition against predictive writing11

7. Often there is a non-miraculous presupposition against narratives like in Daniel (3; 5; 6).

B. Early--Sixth Century:12

1. Manuscript Evidence: Manuscripts discovered at Qumran (e.g., a Florilegium found in cave 4Q), which date from the Maccabean period make it very unlikely that the book was written during the time of the Maccabees (e.g., 168 B.C.) since it would have taken some time for it to have been accepted and included in the canon13

2. Linguistic Evidence:

a. Aramaic: Daniel’s Aramaic demonstrates grammatical evidences for an early date more closely associated with the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. than with the second century B.C.14

b. Persian:

1) Persian loan words in Daniel do not necessarily argue against an early date for the book since Daniel, who lived under the Persians, could have placed the material in its final form at the latter part of his life15

2) Four of the nineteen Persian words are not translated well by the Greek renderings of about 100 B.C. implying that their meaning was lost or drastically changed meaning that it is very unlikely that Daniel was written in 165 B.C.16

3) The Persian words which are cited in Daniel are specifically old Persian words dating from around 300 B.C. This argues against a 165 date17

c. Greek: Three Greek loan words in Daniel need not argue for a late date since there may well have been Greek writing prior to Plato (370 B.C.) where these words could have been used, and since they are the names of musical instruments which often are circulated beyond national boundaries, and since Greek words are found in the Aramaic documents of Elephantine dated to the fifth-century B.C.18

3. Apocalyptic Evidence: The themes of the prominance of angels, the last judgment, the resurrection of the dead, and the establishment of the final kingdom are not themes that are limited to later apocryphal literature, but have their roots in earlier biblical literature and even Zechariah19

4. Literary Evidence: The reason the development of history seems to stop with Antiochus IV Epiphanes is not necessarily because that was when the writer lived; it is probably for literary/theological reasons, he best foreshadows the Antichrist to come20

5. Predictive Evidence: The fourth empire in Daniel 2 is not that of the Greeks as those who hold to a late date affirm; this is substantiated by the vision in chapter 7 were the second empire is not Media and the third empire is not Perisa, but is Greece which divides into four (the Persian empire never divided into four parts). This is also substantiated in Daniel 9 with the vision of the ram and the he-goat (with one horn and then four horns--divided Greece).21

IV. AUTHOR OF THE BOOK

A. Late: Someone living during the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (these go with the arguments above)

B. Early: Daniel the self-proclaimed author of the book living during the sixth century B.C.

1. External Evidence:

a. Jesus identifies Daniel as the prophet who spoke of the “abomination of desolation” (cf. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) in the Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24:15-16 (cf. also Mark 13:14; Luke 21:20)

b. The Jewish Talmud attributes the writing of “Daniel” to the Great Synagogue22 but it is questionable whether such a synagogue ever really existed.

c. The writer shows an accurate knowledge of sixth-century events:

1) The city of Shushan is described as being in the province of Elam back in the time of the Chaldeans (8:2)23

2) In chapter 9 the writer goes beyond the Maccabean period by predicting the crucifixion of Christ and the following destruction of the city of Jerusalem24

2. Internal Evidence: The author refers to himself as Daniel throughout the book (cf. 7:1; the rest of the references are in terms of pronouns either third person or first person singular)

V. PURPOSES OF THE BOOK

A. “To establish hope in future restoration by reflecting in vision God’s dealing with Israel’s national sin through the times of the Gentiles”25

B. To instruct and admonish the people of God in the crisis of faith26

C. To challenge “the faithful to be awake and ready for the unexpected intervention of God in wrapping up all of human history”27


1 The two-fold division is argued upon (1) the way in which Moses' Law is referred to as a unit throughout the Scriptures, (2) the way in which the historical books are linked together as a unit, (3) the reference in Daniel to the Law and the books [9:2], and (4) the recognition of the Former prophetic books by the Latter (See Geisler and Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, pp. 148-161).

2 Prologue to Ecclesiasticus (c. 132 B.C.), Jesus in Luke 24:44 (A.D. 30) Josephus, Against Apion, I.8 (A.D. 37-100).

3 The Writings include: (1) Poetical Books--Psalms, Proverbs, Job, (2) Five Rolls (Megilloth)--Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Esther, Ecclesiastes, (3) Historical Books--Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles

Sometimes Ruth was attached to Judges, and Lamentations was attached to Jeremiah thereby making the Hebrew canon comprised of 22 books rather than the more usual 24 books (see Geisler and Nix, General, pp. 18-19).

4 Critical scholars assume that the three-fold division reflects dates of canonization in accordance with their dates of compositions--Law (400 B.C.), Prophets (c. 200 B.C.), Writings (c. A.D. 100). However, this thesis is untenable in light of early reports of a three-fold division (c. 132 B.C.; see above). See Geisler and Nix, General, p. 151.

This critical approach is suggested by La Sor et al as an explanation for the placement of Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, Esther, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes when they write, Essentially, the purpose of the Writings as a whole was to collect those sacred books whose purpose, character, or date excluded them form the collections of law and prophecy (Old, p. 508-509).

5 Song of Solomon (eighth day of Passover), Ruth (second day of Weeks, or Pentecost), Lamentations (ninth day of Ab, in mourning for the destruction of Solomon's temple), Ecclesiastes (third day of Tabernacles), Esther (Purim).

6

Law

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

History

Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, I Chronicles, II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

Poetry

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

Prophets/Major

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel

Prophets/Minor

Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

For a more extensive overview see Geisler and Nix, General, pp. 17-25.

7 Concerning the importance of this study Waltke writes, This is is of greatest importance for at least three reasons. First, the sovereignty of the revealed God in this book is at stake. If Daniel's God was able to predict the future, then there is reason to believe that the course of history is completely under Yahweh's sovereignty. On the other hand, if the predictions are fraudulent, then one must remain agnostic about Daniel's God. Second, the divine inspiration of the Bible hangs in the balance. If the book contains true predictions, then there is firm reason to believe that this book ultimately owes its origin to One who can predict the future. On the contrary, if it is a spurious, fraudulent, although well-intentioned piece of literature, then the reliability of other books in the canon of Scripture may legitimately be questioned. Third, one's understanding of the nature of Jesus Christ depends on the answer to the date of the book. Jesus Christ regarded the Book of Daniel as a prophetic preview of future history and indeed of the divine program for a future that still lies ahead (Matt. 24:15-16; Mark 13:14; Luke 21:20). If he is wrong in His interpretation of the book, then He must be less than the omniscient, inerrant God incarnate. On the other hand, if His appraisal is right, then His claim to deity cannot be questioned in this regard (Bruce K. Waltke, The Date of the Book of Daniel. Bibliotheca Sacra 133 (1976): 320).

8 For a concise overview of this position and the imaginative working with the evidence to support their presuppositions see Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, 611ff. Archer provides an excellent discussion of the supports for a late date with good answers throughout (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 3387ff).

9 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 388; Brevard S. Childs writes, The visions called the community of faith to obedience and challenged it to hold on because the end of time which Daniel foresaw would shortly come. Because it was written in the form of vaticinium ex eventu, the effect of this message would be electrifying. Daniel had prophesied about the rise and fall of the earlier three kingdoms and these events had occurred. Now his vision of the last days was being fulfilled before their very eyes. The 'little horn' had appeared; the persecution had reached its height; the end was imminent. Therefore 'blessed is he who waits' (Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, 615-16).

10 In addition Archer writes, the statement in Josephus (Contra Apionem 1:8) ... indicates strongly that in the first century A.D., Daniel was included among the prophets in the second division of the Old Testament canon; hence it could not have been assigned to the Kethubim until a later period (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 388).

11 This was first advanced by a Neoplatonic philosopher named Porphyry who lived in the third century after Christ and wrote his fifteen volume set, Against the Christians. See R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament: With a Comprehensive Review of Old Testament Studies and a Special Supplement on the Apocrypha, 1110. Waltke writes, But the question naturally arises, If the evidence for a sixth-century date of composition is so certain, why do scholars reject it in favor of an unsupportable Maccabean hypothesis? The reason is that most scholars embrace a liberal, naturalistic, and rationalistic philiosphy. Naturalism and rationalism are ultimately based on faith rather than on evidence; therefore, this faith will not allow them to accept the supernatural predictions (Bruce K. Waltke, The Date of the Book of Daniel. Bibliotheca Sacra 133 [1976]: 329).

12 Archer writes, Despite the numerous objections whihc have been advanced by scholars who regard this as a prophecy written after the event, there is no good reason for denying to the sixth-century Daniel the composition of the entire work. This represents a collection of his memoirs made at the end of a long and eventful career which included government service from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar in the 590s [605?] to the reign of Cyrus the Great in the 530s. The appearance of Persian technical terms indicates a final recension of these memoirs at a time when Persian teminology had already infiltrated into the vocabulary of Aramaic. The most likely date of the final ediition of the book, therefore, would be about 530 B.C. (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 387).

13 Bruce K. Waltke, The Date of the Book of Daniel. Bibliotheca Sacra 133 (1976): 321-322. Concerning the supposed error of the writer in 11:40-45 to predict the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (cf. I and II Maccabees) Waltke writes, if this be so, it seems incredible that the alleged contemporaries would have held his work in such high regard referring to him as 'Daniel the prophet,' a title bestowed on him in a florilegium found in 4Q (Ibid.).

14 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 398-401. Daniel's Aramaic is closer to Eastern Aramaic (rather than Western Aramaic) much like that which is found in the Elephantine papyri (fifth-century B.C.) and Ezra (450 B.C.) than it is with the Genesis Apocryphon found in Qumran Cave One from the first century B.C. (Bruce K. Waltke, The Date of the Book of Daniel. Bibliotheca Sacra 133 (1976): 322-23; Franz Rosenthal, Die Aramaistisch Forschung (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1939), 66ff; Kenneth A. Kitchen, et. al., The Aramaic of Daniel, in Notes on Some Problems in the Book of Daniel, 31-79.

15 Kenneth A. Kitchen, et. al., The Aramaic of Daniel, in Notes on Some Problems in the Book of Daniel, 41-42; Bruce K. Waltke, The Date of the Book of Daniel. Bibliotheca Sacra 133 (1976): 323.

16 Kenneth A. Kitchen, et. al., The Aramaic of Daniel, in Notes on Some Problems in the Book of Daniel, 43.

17 Ibid., 43-44.

18 For a fuller discussion see Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 395-97 where he also shows how the Greek (or lack thereof) is a strong support for an early date for Daniel. Bruce K. Waltke, The Date of the Book of Daniel. Bibliotheca Sacra 133 (1976): 324..

19 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 402-403.

20 See Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 404; Matthew 24; Mark 13.

21 For a further discussion see Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 403-407; Bruce K. Waltke, The Date of the Book of Daniel. Bibliotheca Sacra 133 (1976): 326-329. Waltke writes, If then the second and third kingdoms refer to Medo-Persia and Greece respectively, the fourth kingdom must be Rome. In this case, even those who contend for a Maccabean date of authorship must admit true prediction in the Book of Daniel for the Roman Empire did not appear in Israel's history until 63 B.C. (Ibid., 328).

22 B.Bat 15a.

23 Archer writes, But from the Greek and Roman historians we learn that in the Persian period Shushan, or Susa, was assigned to a new province which was named after it, Susiana, and the formerly more extensive province of Elam was restricted to the territory west of the Eulaeus River [cf. Strabo, 15:3, 12; 16:1, 17; Pliny, Natural History, 6. 27] (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 408).

24 Waltke writes, Daniel, in addition to predicting that Rome will succeed Greece, also predicts the very date that Israel's Messiah will be crucified. In Daniel 9:24 the writer predicts that 69 'weeks' (= 483 years) after the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem Messiah will be 'cut off.' Artaxerxes issued this decree in the month Nisan of his twentieth year of 444 B.C. (Neh. 2:2).

Hoehner demonstrates that Jesus Christ was crucified on the Passover in the year A.D. 33. The time interval between the first of Nisan (444 B.C.) and the Passover (A.D. 33) is 173,880 days (476 x 365 = 173,740 days; March 4 [1 Nisan] to March 29 [the date of the Passover in A.D. 33] = 24 days; add 116 days for leapyears). Now a prophetic year (also a lunar year) is 360 days (cf. Rev 11) and 483 years multiplied by that figure also equal 173,880.

Here then is confirmatory proof that the book contains genuine predictions (Bruce K. Waltke, The Date of the Book of Daniel. Bibliotheca Sacra 133 (1976): 329).

25 Elliott E. Johnson, Principle of Recognition, 55.

26 Although Childs does not hold to a sixth century date for Daniel and comes about this statement in a 'round-a-bout manner, his analysis of its design is true (Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, 622). Later he writes, the biblical writers pointed to the end of the world in order to call forth a faithful testimony from the people of God. They sought to evoke a commitment 'even unto death' (Ibid.).

27 Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, 622. Continuing he writes, The stories of Daniel and his friends picture men who bear eloquent testimony in both word and deed to an unswerving hope in God's rule. As a consequence, they were made free to hang loosely on the world because they knew their hope rested elsewhere (Ibid.).

Related Topics: Introductions, Arguments, Outlines

An Introduction to the Book of Hosea

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I. AUTHOR: Hosea

A. His name, u^v@oh, means “salvation” and should be spelled “Hoshea” but has come down in English as Hosea. This does distinguish him from the last king of Israel (Hoshea c. 732-722)

B. He is the son of Beeri

C. Unlike Amos, Hosea preached to his own people in Israel

D. He may have been among the priests in his station in view of his knowledge concerning religious affairs, but this is not certain

E. He had three children who played a vital part in his message to the nation of Israel :

1. Jezreel ( laurzy ) “God sows” (1:4)

2. Lo-ruhamah ( hmjr al ) “No compassion” (1:6f)

3. Lo-ammi ( ymu al ) “Not my people” (1:8ff)
[In 2:4 there is the suggestion that the second and third child may not have been Hosea’s, but from an adulterous relationship]

F. Chapters one and three provide little biographical information since they primarily teach about Israel

II. DATE :790-686 B.C.

A. The first verse of chapter one provides a historical setting:

1. During the following kings of Judah:

a. Uzziah 790-739

b. Jotham 750-731

c. Ahaz 735-715

d. Hezekiah 729-686

2. During the reign of Jeroboam II the son of Joash (793-753) in Israel

3. It seems that Hosea lived beyond the captivity of Israel in 722 since Hezekiah’s reign is mentioned

B. The Kings of Assyria which span this time are:

1. Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727)

2. Shalmaneser V (727-722)

3. Sargon II (722-705)

4. Sennacherib (705-681)

III. HISTORICAL SETTING:

A. Even though the latter part of Jeroboam’s reign brought about prosperity (see discussion in Amos outline) it ended with chaos as four kings reigned in one year (753 B.C.: Jeroboam, Zechariah, Shallum and Menahem)

B. Tiglath-Pileser forced Menahem into submission

C. Tiglath-Pileser defeated Pekah and placed Hoshea on the throne

D. Hoshea rebelled and was defeated by Shalmaneser V in his taking of Samaria and the deportation of the people in 722 B.C.

E. Hosea may have begun his ministry during the end of Jeroboam II’s reign and on through that of Zechariah, Shallum, Menanhem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea:

1. In 1:4 the assumption is that Hosea began his ministry while Jeroboam was alive (cf. 1:1 with 1:4)

2. The list of the kings of Judah implies that his ministry continued through (past) the times of the kings of Israel (1:1)

3. If the time of Amos was one of inner crumbling for Israel, the time of Hosea was characterized by a steady decline as the stability of the kingly line fell and Assyria increased her grip and ultimate defeat of the nation

IV. AUDIENCE: Primarily to the people of the northern kingdom, Israel, but also to the southern kingdom of Judah (southern Kings in 1:1)

V. PURPOSES FOR THE BOOK:

A. To call Israel and Judah to repentance in Yahweh, the God of loyal love

B. To reveal the faithlessness of the nation toward their covenant with Yahweh

C. To indict the nation of its lack of knowledge, loyal love, and faithfulness

Related Topics: Introductions, Arguments, Outlines

An Introduction to the Book of Amos

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I. AUTHOR: Amos

A. Southerner of Tekoa (south of Jerusalem) (1:1)

B. Traveled north to Israel (Bethel) to preach as one called of God (7:15)

C. Occupation: sheep breeder, perhaps a master shepherd with others under him; not a prophet until called by the LORD (1:1; 7:14f) and a grower of sycamore figs (7:14)

D. Spoke in Bethel (center for idol worship in Israel) and then in Judah under Jeroboam II's resistance (7)

E. May have returned to Judah to write his messages

II. DATE: ca. 767-753 B.C.

A. King of Judah is Uzziah (Azariah) (790-740)

B. King of Israel is Jerobaom II (793-753)

C. Within the period of the joint reigns of Uzziah and Jeroboam, possibly ca. 767-753 B.C.

D. Two years before the earth quake (1:1 cf. Zech 14:5) it was spoken; it may have been written down later.

E. King of Assyria--Adad Nirari III (810-753)

F. King of Syria--Hazael

III. HISTORICAL SETTING:

A. Judah is under the influence of Jeroboam II of Israel

B. Israel appears to be outwardly at its zenith of power. Jeroboam had a successful reign (2 Ki.14:25-28 cf. Amos 6:14)

C. Many of the evil characteristics described in Amos 1--2 might better be translated in the present tense of activities then being done.1 They describe Jeroboam II's rule as painfully disrupted as His lines were breached and the enemies pressed into the territory. Israel was fighting a defensive war against the armies of Syria and Ammon. Both were true.

D. Three periods of Israel from Jehu (841-414):

1. 839-806 -- Engaged in the East and rent by civil dissensions. Could not put pressure on Syria, suffered 30 years of humiliation during Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash2

2. 806-782 -- Assyria's king Adad-Nirari III is ruler, and ruled over surrounding states, especially Syria. Israel was protected. Therefore Israel was able to restore some of its boarders under Johoash and Jeroboam II. Syria was unable to fight on two boarders.3 Israel and Judah restored their boarders to almost that of David and Solomon (cf. 2 Ki. 14:25 for the prophecy by Jonah)

3. 782-745 -- the time when Amos spoke; Assyria was under duress from the northern kingdom of Urartu which pushed Assyria down from the north, northwest, and northeast.4 Syria was freed up to deal with Israel and entered into drawn-out battles to regain Gilead, and Bashan.5

E. The people became arrogant during the northern nation's period of prosperity resulting in injustice, greed, neglect of the poor, persecution of the poor, and formalistic religion.6

IV. AUDIENCE: Primarily northern Israel (1:1; 7:15), but there are some references to southern Judah as well (2:4-5; 3:1; 6:1).

V. PURPOSES FOR THE BOOK:

A. To describe how the Lord of the universe will not only come to judge the nations for their evil, but will also come to judge Israel for her breach of covenant

B. To expose Israel's breach of covenant through their social oppression of the people, empty religious ritual, and arrogant self-confidence

C. To proclaim a time of restoration and blessing after judgment under a revitalized Davidic dynasty


1 Cohen, pp. 155-156.

2 Ibid., p. 147.

3 Ibid., p. 157.

4 Ibid., 157-158.

5 Ibid., p. 168.

6 LaSor, et al, p. 321.

Related Topics: Introductions, Arguments, Outlines

An Introduction to the Book of Obadiah

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I. TITLE OF THE BOOK:

A. In Hebrew the book is titled hydbu meaning servant of Yahweh. This may have been a popular name as with Ahab's steward who met Elijah (cf. 1 Ki 18)

B. In Greek the book is titled OBDIOU, a transliteration of the Hebrew name and title

II. AUTHOR: Nothing is known historically about the author from the book or from other background materials

III. DATE: Probably exilic with the fall of Jerusalem (586/85 B.C.)

A. Preexilic Date During the Reign of Jehoram (848-841 B.C.)1

1. This is a plausible option

2. It is argued that verses 10-14 of Obadiah refer to the Philistine-Arab invasion of Judah (cf. 2 Chron 21:8-20)
While it is true that an Edomite revolt did occur during this time period (cf. 2 Ki 8:20-22; 2 Chron 21:8-10), there is no mention of the Edomites invading with the Philistines and the Arabs at this time (cf. 2 Chron 21:16ff).2 This is a deduction that is made.
While it is true that the palace was looted (2 Chron 21;17), the magnitude does not seem to be equivalent to that which was described in Obadiah vv. 10-143

3. Jeremiah borrowed from Obadiah4
This argument is inconclusive since it can be argued either way depending on when one dates the book.

B. Preexilic Date During the Reign of Ahaz (743-728 B.C.)5

1. This view is also a valid possibility

2. The argument is that Obadiah is describing the defeat of Ahaz at the hands of the Edomites and Philistines as was recorded in 2 Chronicles 28:17-18
The problem with this position is that no such capture and despoliation of Jerusalem is reported to have taken place during these campaigns as is implied in Obadiah 116

C. Exilic Date Soon after the Destruction of Jerusalem (586/85 B.C.)7

1. The Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. may best explain the description found in Obadiah vv. 10-14

a. Standing by while strangers carried off Judah's riches

b. The disastrous nature of the fall

c. References to lots being cast over the city

2. The Babylonian context matches other exilic scriptures which describe the involvement of Edom in the fall of Jerusalem:

a. Psalm 137:7:
Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem who said, 'Raze it, raze it, to its very foundation'

b. Lamentations 4:21-22
Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, Who dwells in the land of Uz; but the cup will come around to you as well, you will become drunk, and make yourself naked, the punishment of your iniquity has been completed. O daughter of Zion. He will exile you no longer. But He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will expose your sins.

c. Ezekiel 25:12-14:
Thus says the Lord God, 'Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred grievous guilt, and avenged themselves upon them,' Therefore thus says the Lord God, 'I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off man and beast from it. And I will lay it waste; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword. An I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of the people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath' thus they will know My vengeance,' declares the Lord God (cf. also Ezekiel 35:5, 12-15)

3. The parallels between Jeremiah and Obadiah are probably due to the priority of Jeremiah or a common source

D. Conclusion:

Although it is very difficult to be certain about the date for this book--especially between views one and three, it seems best to this writer to identify Obadiah with view four, and the fall of Jerusalem (586/85 B.C.)

IV. HISTORICAL SETTING:8

A. Josiah brought about the final spiritual revival for Judah when he came to the throne in 622 B.C.

B. The Assyrian Empire Fell

1. The Assyrian power rose with Ashurnasirpal II (884-859 B.C.) and Shalmaneser II (859-824 B.C.)

2. Tiglath-pileser III (Pul in the Scriptures) began a group of conquerors who took Syria and Palestine including Shalmaneser V (727-722 B.C. who began the deportation of Samaria), Sargon II (722-705 B.C. who completed the deportation of Samaria), Sennacherib (704-581 B.C. who attacked king of Judah, Hezekiah [Josiah's father]), and Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C. who led campaigns against Egypt)

3. Esarhaddon's son, Ashurbanipal (669-631) ruled much of the upper Egyptian city of Thebes, but his decline and that of Assyria's soon followed

4. Nineveh, the capital, was destroyed in 612 B.C.

5. Assyria's army was defeated in 609 B.C. at Haran

6. What was left of Assyria's army went to Carchemish (just west of the Euphrates River and north of Aram)

C. The Neo-Babylonian Empire Arose

1. Merodach Baladan was a Chaldean and father of Nabopolassar and grandfather of Nebuchadnezzar. Merodach Baladan sent ambassadors to Hezekiah (Isa 39; 2 Ki 20:12-19)

2. In October 626 B.C. Nabopolassar defeated the Assyrians outside of Babylon

3. In 616 B.C. Nabopolassar expanded his kingdom, and in 612 B.C. he joined with the Medes and destroyed Nineveh

D. A Realignment of Power in 609 B.C. and later

1. Judah: When Assyria fell and Babylon arose Judah, under Josiah, removed itself from Assyria's control and existed as an autonomous state until 609 B.C. when it lost a battle with Egypt on the plain of Megiddo

2. Egypt:

a. Attempted to expand its presence into Palestine with Assyria's troubles

b. Egypt joined with Assyria to fight the Babylonians at Haran

1) Judah tried to stop Egypt's (Pharaoh Neco II) alliance but was defeated on the plain of Megiddo with the loss of their king, Josiah (cf. 2 Chron 35:20-24)

2) The Assyrians lost their battle with Babylon (even with the help of Egypt) and disappeared as a power in the world, and Egypt retreated to Carchemish as the dividing line between Egypt and Babylonian

3) Egypt ruled Judah:

a) Egypt (Necho) replaced Josiah's son, Jehoahaz, after three months with Jehoiakim (who was another son of Josiah) as a vassal king (2 Ki 23:34-35)

b) Egypt (Necho) plundered Judah's treasuries

c) Egypt (Necho) took Jehoahaz into captivity in Egypt

E. In 605 B.C. other changes of power occurred:

1. Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish

2. Judah's king, Jehoiakim, changed his loyalty to the Babylonians rather than the Egyptians and became Nebuchadnezzar's vassal king (2 Ki. 24:1)

3. Nebuchadnezzar had to return to Babylon with the death of his father, Nebopolassar

4. Nebuchadnezzar solidified his rule by appointing vassal kings and taking hostages; Daniel was taken as a part of this deportation (Dan 1:1-6)

F. In 601 Egypt defeated the Babylonians

1. Judah's king, Jehoiakim, switched loyalty from Babylonia to the Egyptians (2 Ki 24:1)

2. On December of 598 Babylonia made an attack on Jerusalem leading to Jehoiakim's death and the surrender of the city by his successor, Jehoiachin, in March of 597

3. Nebuchadnezzar, replaced Jehoiachin after only three months of reign, deported him and 10,000 other leaders9 from the city, looted the city, and placed Zedekiah Judah's vassal king (cf. 2 Ki 24:12-16)

G. Zedekiah was a weak king who repeated the errors of those before him; he was convinced by Egypt to revolt with a coalition of other states (Tyre and Ammon) against Babylon (588 B.C. against the advise of Jeremiah) and Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

H. The Edomites joined in Babylon's destruction of Judah (Psalm 137:7; Lam 4:21-22; Ezek 25:12-14; 35:5, 12-15).

V. PURPOSES:

A. To proclaim judgment upon Edom for rejoicing over the fall of Jerusalem

B. To proclaim through the judgment of Edom that all of the nations will be judged for their hostility to God's people10

C. To proclaim a message of hope for Judah11


1 Walter L. Baker, Obadiah, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty: Old Testament, 1453-54; Charles Lee Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, 125; Hobart E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, 140-41; John A Martin, An Outline of Obadiah, unpublished class notes in 304 preexlic and exilic prophets, (Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1983), 1.

2 Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 109.

3 Ibid.

4 Compare Obadiah vv. 1-4 with Jeremiah 49:14-16; Obadiah vv. 5-6 with Jeremiah 49:9-10; Obadiah v. 8 with Jeremiah 49:7, and Obadiah v. 16 with Jeremiah 49:12.

5 Archer notes that J. H. Raven and J. D. Davis date the book at this time (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 306-307).

6 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 307.

7 Most evangelical writers seem to hold to this view: Leslie C. Allen. The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, 129-30; Carl E. Armerding, Obadiah, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, VII:337; Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 109-110; Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 377; Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Obadiah, unpublished class notes in seminar in the exilic Old Testament prophets [Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990], 173).

8 This was adapted from Charles H. Dyer, Jeremiah, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty: Old Testament, 1125-27, and Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Jeremiah, unpublished class notes in seminar in the preexilic Old Testament prophets (Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990), 101-105.

9 Perhaps Ezekiel was one of those deported during this second deportation. He would have begun his prophetic ministry five years later.

10 See Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, 414-15.

11 This book may have never been read to Edom. It was written for Judah (cf. vv. 18, 21). Childs writes, In sum, the canonical shape of the oracles of Obadiah has interpreted the prophetic message as the promise of God's coming rule which will overcome the evil intent of the nations, even Edom, and restore a holy remnant to its inheritance within God's kingship (Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, 415).

Related Topics: Introductions, Arguments, Outlines

An Introduction to the Book of Micah

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I. TITLE OF THE BOOK:

A. Hebrew: In Hebrew the book is titled hkym after the prophet to whom it was given. It seems that the name Micah has been shortened from the longer Why*k*m! meaning “Who is like Yahweh?”1

B. Greek: In Greek the book is titled MICAIAS again after the prophet to whom it was given

II. AUTHOR:

A. The author, Micah, was of the town called Moresheth which may be the same town mentioned in 1:14, Moresheth-gath. If so, Micah came from a little town not far from Jerusalem (25 miles SW of Jerusalem near the Philistine city of Gath)
HEATER writes, “Isaiah was apparently a more urbane prophet, personally acquainted with kings and leaders. Micah, like Amos, may not have been part of the official prophets’ guild. His trips to Jerusalem as a ‘country’ prophet no doubt confirmed what he had heard from a distance. He shared with Isaiah, however, an unswerving commitment to the covenant of Yahweh and an abhorrence of the sin so prevalent in his day”2

B. Micah lived during the times of the kings of Judah--Jotham (750-732/35), Ahaz (735-713/16), and Hezekiah (716-687)

C. Micah’s contemporaries were:3

1. Isaiah--who prophesied during the times of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah

2. Amos--who prophesied during the time of Uzziah (and Jeroboam II in Israel)

3. Hosea--who prophesied during the time of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (and Jeroboam II in Israel)

D. For a good discussion of unity under one author (Micah) see Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 131-33.

III. DATE: Eighth Century B.C. probably before the fall of Samaria in 722/21 B.C. to Sennacherib’s march to Judah in 701 B.C.

A. That Micah mentions the “decrees of Omri” (c. 885-874 B.C.), the “works of the dynasty of Ahab” (c. 874-853; Mic 6:16), and Assyria indicates that at least part of Micah’s ministry was before the fall of Samaria in 722/21 B.C.

B. The similarities between Micah 6:10-11 and Amos 8:5-6 supports a time which would have been before the fall of Samaria4

C. If 1:10-16 is describing the march of Sennacherib from Lachish to Jerusalem in 701 B.C. we may have a terminus boundary for the book

D. Probably Micah’s references to the fall of Judah and Jerusalem by “Babylon” (Micah 3:12; 4:10) were typico-prophetic5 (cf. Jer 26:18 where Jeremiah affirms that Micah predicted the fall of Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah (716-687 B.C.)6

IV. HISTORICAL SETTING:

A. Micah was a contemporary with Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea for at least for part of his ministry

B. Tiglath-pileser had conquered all of northern Syria by 740 (the date of Uzziah’s death)

1. He conquered the Aramean city-state of Hamath

2. He forced all small kingdoms, including Israel under Menahem to pay tribute (2 Kings 15:19f) and Judah under “Azariah” (Uzziah)7

3. He entered Palestine in 734 B.C., set up a base of operations at the River of Egypt. Many small states rebelled against him including Israel in the Syro-Ephraimite war (733 B.C.).

4. Judah would not participate in the Syro-Ephraimite coalition. The coalition attempted to overthrow the Davidic dynasty to appoint a king who would join the coalition (2 Kings 15:37; 16:5; Isa. 7:1)

5. Isaiah exhorted Ahaz to trust in the YHWH; he refused and turned to Assyria (Isa. 7; 2 Kings 16:7-9)

6. Tiglath-pileser invaded Israel and almost came to Judah’s boarders (Isa. 15:29)

a. Israel’s king--Hosea paid tribute to Tiglath-pileser (732)

b. Tiglath-pileser died (727) and Hosea (who overtook Pikah in Israel) refused (in alliance with So of Egypt) to pay tribute to Shalmaneser V as he had to Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings 17:4).

C. Assyria (Shalmaneser or his successor Sargon II) moved against Israel and after a three year siege, took the capital of Samaria (721) and carried the people into captivity

D. Assyria expanded unto the northern boundary of Judah. Judah was also left alone when many of the city states of Palestine and Syria along with Egypt rebelled against Assyria and were put down in 720 B.C.

E. Judah (under Hezekiah) joined an uprising along with Egypt, Edom, and Moab against Assyria (713-711)

F. Sargon (of Assyria) took Ashdod and Gath leaving Judah vulnerable

G. Sargon died in 705 leading to revolt by many including Judah under Hezekiah along with Babylon (2 kings 20:12-19; Isa. 39:1-4)

H. Sennacherib (of Assyria) retaliated in 701 defeating Sidon, receiving tribute from Ashdod, Ammon, Moab, and Edom, subjugating Ashkelon and Ekron, and surrounding Hezekiah8 and forcing him to pay tribute to Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:13-16)

V. AUDIENCES: Micah wrote to both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah/Jerusalem; nevertheless, the southern nation of Judah was his primary audience

VI. PURPOSES:

A. To warn the northern kingdom, Israel, of impending judgment because of its covenant disloyalty

B. To warn the southern kingdom, Judah, of impending judgment because of its covenant disloyalty

C. To confirm for Judah that they were just as guilty as was Israel, so they would be judged like Israel

D. To emphasize God’s justice and love in disciplining the nation

E. To affirm God’s future restoration of His people (not the major purpose)

F. To present “God as the sovereign Lord of the earth who controls the destinies of nations, including His covenant people Israel”9


1 Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Micah, unpublished class notes in seminar in the preexilic Old Testament prophets [Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990], 33.

Micah, or Micaiah, was a common name in the OT (cf. Judges 17--18; 1 Chron 5:5; 9:15; 23:20; 2 Chron 34:20; 1 Ki 22:8; Neh 10:11.

2 Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Micah, unpublished class notes in seminar in the preexilic Old Testament prophets [Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990], 33.

3 Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Micah, unpublished class notes in seminar in the preexilic Old Testament prophets [Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990], 33.

4 Ralph L. Smith, Micah-Malachi, Word Biblical Commentary, XXXII:5.

5 Chisholm's discussion is helpful here: several explanations for the reference to Babylon (4:10) may be offered. One could label this line a later gloss without necessitating a late date for the entire context. However, if 4:10 is a gloss, why were 5:5-6 and 7:12, which view Assyria as Judah's enemey and place of exile, not altered by the propsed editor for the sake of consistency? Another possiblity is that Micah, like Isaiah (cf. 39:6-7), foresaw a distant Babylonian exile beyond the Assyrian crisis of his own day. However, if so, why did he picture Assyria as Judah's eschatological enemy (cf. 5:5-6) and view it as the place where Zion's people would be exiled (7:12)? A third possibility is that Micah, in mentioning Babylon, was referring (from his perspective at least) to the Assyrians, who conquered Babylon and regarded it as an important religious center. Micah may have chosen the name 'Babylon' for its symbolic value or because of its association with Nimrod (cf. Gen. 10:10), whom the prophet names in 5:6 in conjunction with Assyria. Since Genesis 10:8-12 identifies Nimrod as the founder of both Assyria and Babylon, the two were probably closely related in Israelite thought (Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 133).

6 Ralph L. Smith, Micah-Malachi, Word Biblical Commentary, XXXII:5.

7 LaSor, et al, p. 367--cannot find this in ANET, p. 283f.

8 Cf. ANET, p. 288.

9 Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 160.

Related Topics: Introductions, Arguments, Outlines

An Introduction to the Book of Nahum

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I. TITLE OF THE BOOK:

A. Hebrew: In Hebrew the book is titled <wjn which is probably the passive form of “comforted” with the name of Yahweh omitted1

B. Greek: In Greek the book is titled NAOUM which is basically a transliteration of the Hebrew

II. AUTHOR:

A. He is identified as Nahum the Elkoshite (Nahum 1:1)

B. The title “the Elkoshite” may have reference to the town that Nahum was from (e.g., Elkosh); however, it is not presently known where that town was located. Perhaps it was in Judah since he writes to Judah.

C. His name means “consolation” or “comfort” which has significance since that is what he will bring to Judah through his message about the destruction of Nineveh

D. Canonicity of Nahum has never been seriously challenged2

III. DATE: 663 to 612 B.C. (perhaps between 663 to 654 B.C.)

A. The prophecy’s identification of the Assyrian (Ashurbanipal) destruction of the Egyptian city of Thebes (No-amon), in upper Egypt on the Nile (Nahum 3:8), suggests that the book was written after 663 B.C.

B. Since the essence of the book is to describe the upcoming destruction of the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, it is probable that the book was written before 612 B.C.

C. Perhaps the book’s emphasis upon the power of the Assyrians may suggest a date before 645 B.C. since its decline was evident by 626.3 This would have been during the reign of Manasseh (686-642 B.C.)

D. Conclusion: Therefore it is reasonable to affirm that Nahum was written sometime between 663 B.C. and 612 B.C., perhaps before the rebuilding of the city of Thebes from 663 B.C. to 654 B.C.

IV. HISTORICAL SETTING:

A. The Assyrian power rose with Ashurnasirpal II (884-859 B.C.) and Shalmaneser II (859-824 B.C.)

B. Tiglath-pileser III (Pul in the Scriptures) began a group of conquerors who took Syria and Palestine including Shalmaneser V (727-722 B.C. who began the deportation of Samaria), Sargon II (722-705 B.C. who completed the deportation of Samaria), Sennacherib (704-581 B.C. who attacked king of Judah, Hezekiah [Josiah’s father]), and Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C. who led campaigns against Egypt)

C. Esarhaddon’s son, Ashurbanipal (669-631) ruled much of the upper Egyptian city of Thebes, but his decline and that of Assyria’s soon followed

D. In 616 B.C. Nabopolassar expanded his kingdom, and in 612 B.C. he joined with the Medes and Scythians to destroy Nineveh

E. Assyria’s army was defeated in 609 B.C. at Haran

F. What was left of Assyria’s army went to Carchemish (just west of the Euphrates River and north of Aram)

V. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROPHETS:

A. Jonah: Nahum is related to Jonah who prophesied 150 years earlier against Nineveh and experienced a great revival in the city. It seems that Nineveh has now fallen again into is severe sin and is being told again of certain judgment

B. Nahum is one of three prophets who have prophesies against other nations:

1. Nahum--against Assyria

2. Obadiah--against Edom

3. Habakkuk--against Babylon
These three countries/empires afflicted God’s people throughout their history

VI. PURPOSES:

A. To place a “burden” (oracle) or destruction upon Nineveh
Note--there is no counter condemnation upon Judah

B. To provide comfort for Judah who was afflicted by Assyria with the assurance that God is in control and will fight for His people
Bob Chisholm says it this way, “The sovereign Lord, who is the most powerful of all warriors, would avenge the harm done to His covenant people by appropriately and thoroughly judging their Assyrian oppressors”4


1 See Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Nahum, unpublished class notes in seminar in the preexilic Old Testament prophets [Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990], 171.

2 Pfeiffer argued that 1:2-10 was not original because he felt that it was a late, corrupted piece of acrostic poetry, but there is no good evidence that such an acrostic poem exists in the text (for a fuller discussion see Carl E. Armerding, Nahum, in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, VII:457-58; Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 361).

3 See the discussion by Carl E. Armerding, Nahum, in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, VII:452-53.

Elliott E. Johnson summarizes Walter Maier's arguments (in The Book of Nahum: A Commentary, pp. 30, 34-37) for a date between 663 and 654 when he writes, 1. The description of Nineveh (1:12; 3:1, 4, 16) does not match the decline of the Assyrian nation under Ashurbanipal's sons, Ashur-etil-ilani (626-623 B.C.) and, Sin-Shar-ishkum (623-612) B.C.).

2. When Nahum prophesied Judah was under the Assyrian yoke (1:13, 15; 2:1, 3). This fits with the reign of Manasseh over Judah (697-642) more than with the reign of Josiah (640-609).

3. The Medes rose in power around 645 B.C. as an independent nation, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire began in 626. If Nahum had written shortly before Nineveh's fall to those nations in 612, mention of them would be expected. But since Nahum does not mention the Medes or the Babylonians, he probably wrote his prophecy before 645.

4. Most important, however, is the fact that nine years after Thebes was destroyed, it was restored (in 654). Nahum's rhetorical question in 3:8 would have had little or no force if it had been written after 654 (Elliott E. Johnson, Nahum, in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty: Old Testament, 1496; see also Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 361).

4 Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 179.

Related Topics: Introductions, Arguments, Outlines

Diagnosis: Life or Death

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Technology--what a wonderful word in today’s society! It brings us great new forms of entertainment, convenience, and, of course, healing. It certainly has constituted a major part of my life while I was a consultant to many hospitals and commercial firms in the area of radiological physics. I can see first hand where advances in technology have made significant contributions to our well-being and happiness. For example, the Nobel prize in medicine was once given to two physicists for inventing the computerized axial tomograph, better known as the CAT scanner. With it, physicians are able to see structures in patients that were previously only visible during invasive surgery. The magnetic resonance imager, or MRI, is not only enhancing the visual presentation to the doctors, but will possibly be able to perform the cell pathology as well.

It does seem a bit strange that with all this advanced technology, the ultimate diagnosis is still made the old fashioned way, by comparing what the doctor sees to what is, by scientific consensus, the normal tissue or structure. That, of course, is the method of all diagnostic procedures--comparison. When we consider all sickness, mental as well as physical, the diagnostic procedure is the same, comparison to a normal standard. However, when we consider moral sickness, the “normal” standard becomes a bit elusive. What is the consensus? Who or what should be used as the standard for diagnosing another person’s moral sickness?

Most people will listen to and then agree with a diagnosis of some medical malady they possess. However, it would be the rare individual who would agree with a diagnosis of moral sickness. His or her first response would probably be, “What about you … you’re no better than I am!” The logic here seems to be that if a person has the same sickness that you have, it disqualifies him from diagnosing that illness. Many capable doctors have or have had cancer! This certainly does not disqualify them from diagnosing cancer. In fact, it probably enhances their perception and understanding of the disease. From the secular point of view it would seem to be difficult to establish a moral standard against which all other moral actions could be weighed. But a standard does exits, the Scriptures solve the problem with the statement, “… be ye holy even as I am Holy.”

God is bold enough to use Himself as the moral standard of the world. When we compare God’s “moral x-ray” to our “moral x-ray,” we see an obvious and marked difference. Perhaps it is this difference that most people cannot accept. “I’m not a bad person. As a matter of fact, I do quite a few good things, so I guess I am really a better person than you think.” This common response is a result of not comparing oneself to the proper or normal moral standard. The only acceptable standard is the Creator of the universe. Compared to Him, we are all very sick morally, and the prognosis is poor.

The realization of moral sickness in the life of a secular humanist is a most difficult procedure to endure. Believing that there are no moral absolutes to be imposed on mankind, they are a moral standard unto themselves. Of course all secular humanists would agree that there are “things” that are right and some “things” that are wrong. These, of course, are really moral things, but the problem is how to adjudicate between them without a standard. Secular law is appealed to for a solution, but what is the source of secular law? Without an exhaustive historical search it is evident that our current secular law has much, if not all, of its origin in moral law, the law of absolute morality of an absolutely holy God. With this standard it is possible to accurately diagnose moral sickness. I am, when judged by the absolute morality of God, obviously deficient in intent and action. Of course I am at liberty to ignore this diagnosis or even acknowledge it but to refuse the required treatment. Just as we must give our permission for secular doctors to treat us, we must give God permission to treat our moral sickness. Many refuse on the basis of their secular, humanistic philosophy, but at least they are being consistent. Some, however, will plead their “goodness.” This is comparable to the patient diagnosed with esophageal cancer claiming that he has really good teeth and magnificent upper body strength. No matter what parts are “good,” the cancer will still proceed to claim its victim.

Moral sickness, or moral cancer if you will, is quite virulent. Its primary site is the heart, and it metastasizes to all other parts of the body. It spreads to the brain, and we think things we should not; it spreads to the eyes and we look upon thing we should not; it spreads to the hands and we touch things we should not; it spreads to the feet and we go where we should not. According to the standard of God’s moral law it is surely fatal. Must we then live in despair and hopelessness? Well, if there is no recourse to a treatment facility with appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic regimes, the answer is a depressing yes. However there is good news!

God has provided a unique treatment for the “cancer” of moral sickness. It is not in radiation, surgery or chemotherapy. Surprisingly the solution is death. No, not your physical death, though that is the inevitable outcome, but the death of another person. God’s atonement for sin is death. One death is required for one sin to achieve a proper atonement. Since we can only die once it would be impossible for us to atone for our many violations of God’s moral law. However, one death for sin would provide a singular atonement. Think of it as an equation with death in the numerator and sin in the denominator. One death; one sin; an atonement. One death; more than one sin; only a fraction of an atonement. The atonement must be whole and able to secure atonement for all people for all time. One death; no sin (that is zero); an infinite atonement (some mathematicians would call the value “undefined” but infinite is just as acceptable). Since the number of people who will ever live is finite, and the number of violations of God’s moral law they commit will also be finite, an infinite atonement will suffice. One only has to agree with God that this substitutionary atonement applies to him, and then put his trust in what God has done in sending His own Son, Jesus Christ, to be the perfect, sinless sacrifice for his sin. The cure is complete and the prognosis is everlasting life.

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Comfort for God’s People (Isaiah 40)

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“Behold Your God”

Introduction

Whether we are reading the daily paper, listening to the radio, or watching TV, the news is filled with what one might call the fruits of discouragement and even despair. Life is like a continuous newsreel showing the futile actions of people trying to live without a biblical hope, one solidly fixed on God as their defense and refuge.

Without question, we live in a strife-ridden world, one torn by wars, by famine, by disease and sickness, by natural disasters of gigantic proportion, by injustices and corrupt governments run by self-seeking politicians who are like capricious children (Isa. 3:4). But what is even worse, they rule over a populace that by-in-large has become indifferent to the moral improprieties in its leaders. Ours is a world polluted by demonic powers and humanistic ideas where man is wise in his own eyes and clever in his own sight. Through this satanically-inspired, man-made wisdom, man perverts and distorts what is good and wholesome, and in the process, takes people further and further away from God. As it was in Isaiah’s day, evil is called good, and good evil, darkness is substituted for light and light for darkness, bitter is substituted for sweet and sweet for bitter (Isa. 5:20). The root of the problem is that we have become wise in our own eyes and clever in our own sight (Isa. 5:21) for we now live in a day where we have not only taken prayer out of the schools, but where it is against the law for a teacher or even a judge to have a copy of the Ten Commandments in their class or courtroom.

In the first chapters of Isaiah, the prophet graphically portrays this whole scenario when man rejects God’s revelation and turns to his own cleverness. Had there been a Jerusalem Gazette in Isaiah’s day, I would imagine its front page was not greatly different from the front pages of our newspapers today.

Certainly, ours is a day that needs to hear Isaiah’s cry where he sarcastically addresses the rulers in Jerusalem (the capital) and the people of the nation, Israel: “Hear the word of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah” (Isa. 1:10).

Sadly and ironically Isaiah’s day, as with our day, was also a day of great religiosity (see Isa. 1:11f).

Daily events demonstrate two things in America today:

(1) The restless and yet futile activity of a world full of people who know not the comfort of God because they refuse to live under the shelter of the Most High so that they might enjoy the shadow (the comfort and protection) of the Almighty.

(2) The tragic results of man’s choice to ignore God’s shelter. The result is a society that, in its mad pursuit to find meaning and happiness without God, is bombarded by spiritual, social, and moral decay. Isaiah portrays this as the constant churning of a restless sea with its waves constantly buffeting the shore and casting up mire and mud. What a graphic picture of the moral pollution that covers society.

Isaiah 57:20-21 reads, “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked.’” (NIV)

When we read the word “wicked” in our Bibles, we often associate it with those who have a certain kind of lifestyle very different from ours. To most people, this word brings to mind the concept of gross evil. We think in terms of the fast crowd, the Mafia, or something similar. We think, this couldn’t possibly apply to me! But you see, gross evil is the product of prior choices, choices to live life without God as He is revealed in Scripture and believers can be guilty of that in dozens of ways.

In the Old Testament, the word “wicked” (Heb. r~sh~) generally describes those who have no relationship with God by faith in His promises. It refers to people who live by their passions, their desires, thinking this is the way to peace, security, and satisfaction. They are what we would call ungodly. But why? We call them ungodly because they seek to find happiness through the details of life apart from relationship with God. Look at Isaiah 55:1-7.

But in Isaiah 3:11-12, this word is used of God’s own covenant people who, thinking like the nations, had ignored their relationship with the Lord and His Word. God’s people were attempting to live without fellowship and trust in God alone through the cleansing power of His Word which also pointed to a Messiah who must shed His blood as our substitute for sin (Isa. 53). Indeed, they had ignored the warnings of Moses in Deuteronomy 8:1-3, 11-14.

Because of this, r~sh~ is occasionally translated “ungodly” by the KJV. We should remember the very first sin of Adam and Eve was seeking to live life independently of God. This is the greatest form of wickedness. The word “wicked” or “ungodly” describes people from the standpoint of their choice to try to live without God and the careful application of His Word to all of life.

In Psalm 1 this word, r~sh~, is used four times to contrast the godly man with the ungodly. The godly man puts his delight in God’s counsel thereby showing his trust in God, but the ungodly man seeks to live life by his own counsel or strategies.

Compare the verses below from Psalm 119, that great Psalm that extols the value and importance of the Word.

Psalm 119:52-53 I have remembered Your ordinances from of old, O LORD, And comfort myself. 53 Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked, Who forsake Your law.

Psalm 119:155 Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes.

The unrighteousness of society (that is its refuse and mire) is the product of its ungodliness, its restless and futile activity to find meaning and happiness in life without truly turning to God and trusting in Him and His plan of salvation for all spheres of life.

Note this very thing described in Romans 1:18-32:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

The Fruits of Despair

We live in a nation where many families are having to live with the ripping effects of divorce and this not just among the unbelieving community, but among believers in Christ. While I can’t document this at the moment, I have heard the divorce rate in the Christian community has now surpassed the non-Christian community. The percentage of marriages ending in divorce is far too high, and one reason divorce occurs so often is that people are in despair; they lose hope and give up.

Also today, we see so many despairing parents. As mentioned, we have seen prayer forbidden is our schools and the Ten Commandments removed from the walls of the classrooms. As a result, we have all kinds of juvenile problems even children murdering their parents. But what is even more appalling to me is that even within the Christian community we have parents who know more about what men say about child training than they do about what God’s Word says.

Listen to these verses:

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Proverbs 29:15 The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

Proverbs 29:17 Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul. (NIV)

We read and hear about suicide among friends and relatives, especially among teenagers and the elderly. Young people despair of life even at the morning of their lives. The elderly despair at the evening of life because of loneliness or because they look back and see no purpose to life.

We see and experience all kinds of addictions such as alcohol and drug abuse. But there are many other legitimate pleasures in life that become addictions such as food, sports, or recreation. People who are empty and despairing of life seek to find relief in some form of substance abuse or activity to numb the pain that only God can remove. The same applies to the pursuit of other things to escape from unhappiness or lack of purpose and emptiness such as materialism, position, power, prestige, applause, and fame.

Others may turn to demonic powers and the promises of the new age movement. Some fall for the lying persuasion of cult leaders like Jim Jones.

Another type of despair or discouragement comes as a result of what happens when people go through painful problems within their church leaving them hurt and angry. Very seldom do the majority of people in a church know the true facts about problems that transpire. But, as rumors fly, everyone eventually has their own opinions, which are unfortunately one sided and incomplete. This leads to a host of negative feelings about what has transpired. Not only do people become worried, hurt, angry, and perplexed, but very often they become depressed, discouraged, sometimes to the point of despair and cynicism even questioning God’s call on their lives. Of course it would help us all to remember there are no perfect churches because churches are made up of imperfect people.

Let me state here a basic principle and a spiritual law of life which is just as real as the law of gravity: Either we experience the comfort of the God who has revealed Himself in the Bible and in the person and work of Jesus Christ, or to some degree we will live in despair. This often causes people to turn to their own solutions which are futile and totally ill equipped to handle life in a fallen world.

Discouragement (or despair) is the absence of hope, the absence of the confident expectation that all is okay, that someone is in charge, that things are going to work out regardless of how dismal they may appear.

Due to the nature of our fallen world and the constant activity of Satan, the man-made, Satan-inspired solutions the world offers will always be inadequate. While the Apostle Paul was writing about the demands and trials of ministry, his cry in 2 Corinthians 2:16, “and who is adequate for these thing,” is certainly applicable to our subject. The answer, of course, is none of us are in the least adequate! But later the Apostle also said, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.”

One of the causes of despair is the lack of purpose and meaning in life. This is illustrated by a story in the Ladies Home Journal regarding a rape victim who went into deep depression and despair for months. She gained over 60 pounds as she ate to find comfort. She stayed in this condition, even contemplating suicide, until she read about another victim. Understanding what the woman was going through, she got involved. Finding a sense of purpose brought her out of her despair as well as back to her normal weight.

But while people may find some sense of meaning and purpose in a cause, they are ultimately still without an adequate hope if they are without God and are not living by the encouragement and faith viewpoint of the Scriptures. The reason is that even in this type of a situation, “self” is the center of what is going on and therefore the fight is self-centered and self-motivated. There is still the lack of an adequate center and purpose.

Writing to the Ephesians regarding their past before faith in Christ, Paul wrote:

Ephesians 2:12 … remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Now contrast this with Paul’s words to the Romans in 15:1-5:

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. 3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached Thee fell upon Me.” 4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; …

Note that, based on the example of our Lord, there is a call to a purpose in life—the ministry of serving others. However, the call is one which flows, not from self-centered purposes or personal agendas, but from a vital relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The Apostle carefully orients and anchors his exhortation here to the Word and one’s relationship and trust in the Lord as the ultimate source of encouragement and the center of life.

Helping others can become self-centered and neurotic. Until we learn to cast our pain on the Lord and find our comfort in Him, we will continue to turn to the futile plans of our own hearts to protect us from pain (cf. Ps. 33:10; Prov. 6:18; Jer. 6:19; 18:12 with Prov. 16:3). When we move away from self-centered living to other-centered living through rest in the Savior, we gain a new sense of purpose—one anchored in someone greater than ourselves.

In view of this, the unbelieving world and believers who refuse to respond to God’s direction and comfort, must live with a certain degree of despair especially as they face the painful experiences and tragedies of life. Remember, people may not look like they are in despair, but their lifestyles and the way they handle problems show that’s very often the case. Despair manifests itself in the patterns of the world’s lifestyle and pursuits that are often unconsciously designed to fill a void. This results in the tragic daily news headlines.

Writing to idolatrous Israel in a time when material prosperity and spiritual bankruptcy characterized the day, Hosea the prophet wrote, “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” When we sow the winds of futility we will reap the whirlwind—the tornadic consequences of attempting to live life without God’s direction and comfort (cf. Hos. 8:7). And Christians, in spite of all they have in Christ, are not immune to this. That we are not immune is quite evident from Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians in 4:17-20 which was written to Christians. As Christians we do not always walk in the direction and comfort of our God, under His shelter of protection. And that means we can’t rest in the shadow (the comfort) of the Almighty and His grace.

Temporary Solutions

Satan and his world system offer temporary, shallow, and selfish routes to relief, which always lead us further away from a deep trust in God, from God’s true solutions, and thus, true comfort. Remember, in Scripture God is called “the God of all comfort” because He is really the only true source of comfort. Any solution that is not ultimately designed to lead us to God’s solution becomes a wrong and deceptive solution.

Life is full of pain and problems of all sorts, sizes, and shapes. As a result, our constant temptation is to seek quick, temporary relief so we can cope or make life feel better. Some of these solutions can be legitimate, but only if we learn to see them as a part of a total program leading us to the root problems and solutions. In other words, there are surface problems and solutions, and there are root causes and solutions.

For instance a sedative may dull the pain of an abscessed tooth, but only temporarily. We most likely need an antibiotic and perhaps a root canal.

Telling your wife you are sorry when you have spoken harshly or lost your temper over something may make you and your wife feel better, but have you really dealt with root cause of the harsh words? For that stronger medicine is needed.

Biblical comfort through the Word does not simply chop down the thorns and the weeds that cause us pain, it digs around in the soil of our lives to loosen soil around the roots, and then pulls them up by the roots.

The Need for Comfort

So where is God in all of this. Doesn’t He care? Is there not a solution and that which can bring comfort?

That God cares is seen (a) in the gift of the Word, a book filled with personal promises, and (b) the gift of His Son, the greatest promise of all. Note the following facts:

  • In the KJV, some form of the word “comfort” is found 119 times (42 of these in the NT), NIV 69 times (19 in the NT), and the NAS 80 times (23 in the NT). All of these verses don’t deal with the offer of comfort, but they do speak in one way or another to the issue of man’s need.
  • Some form of the word “encouragement” is found nine times in the KJV, 55 in the NIV, and the NAS 45 times.
  • In addition, there are other words and clauses which call to mind God’s care and man’s need of comfort like “sustain, support, strengthen,” or clauses like “let not your heart be troubled,” “be not afraid,” “fear not,” “don’t give up,” “our hearts melted,” “take courage,” and so on.

In anticipation of His death, resurrection and ascension, and His departure from His disciples (knowing their troubled hearts), Christ loving said to them, “let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1). In these words we see the Savior’s love, but we also see two problems which reveal two needs.

First we see “troubled hearts” and the need of mature faith. Second, we see the solution, belief or faith. If faith is absent, it is actually the cause of a troubled heart.

The Problem of Troubled Hearts

Whether in the form of discouragement, perplexity, fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, or resentment, a troubled heart is a constant difficulty and reality of life.

In John 14:1 our Lord gives us the simple key to troubled hearts—faith in God through fellowship with the Lord Jesus. But He also shows us something else. Dealing with our troubled hearts is our responsibility. Note also Proverbs 4:23.

John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.

Proverbs 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

God cares about our hearts, but man is responsible to come to God by faith and to choose the right solution—His solution. There is a right way, one which works, and hundreds of wrong way streets that always fail. “There is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12; 16:25).

Scripture emphatically declares that the God of the Bible is the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3-4). He alone is the source of real and lasting comfort, the kind that is not based on the fleeting and momentary uncertainties of life. Isaiah 40, begins with the call to comfort God’s people and through the development of this great chapter, God gives us some wonderful principles for dealing with our troubled hearts through faith.

The Need—A Focus of Faith

If man in all his temporality, frailty, and sinfulness is to find comfort, he must be anchored upon one who has the capacity to give comfort, to make provision for his sinfulness, and give strength in the midst of the turbulent waters of life, or he will drown. The great value of the Bible is that it is where we find God and His plan of salvation.

Someone tells the following story:

Karen’s mother was startled to find her five-year-old going through a new Bible storybook and circling the word “God” wherever it appeared on the page. Stifling her first reaction to reprimand the child for defacing a book, she quietly asked, “Why are your doing that?” Karen’s matter-of-fact answer was, “So that I will know where to find God when I want Him.” Wouldn’t be nice to have her confidence that all we had to do was open a book and find God waiting for us. The truth is, we have such a book—the Bible.

The emphasis here is on finding comfort by keeping our focus on the Lord. We must learn to filter all of life through the grid of the WHO and WHAT of God so that we might rest in what He is doing and in who He is.

As we approach this portion of the text, I am reminded of a story about Martin Luther’s wife when he was in a time of severe discouragement or despair. Katherine Luther dramatically revived the depressed Reformer’s confidence in God’s providence. It has been versified by F. W. Herzberger:

    One day when skies loomed the blackest,
    This greatest and bravest of men
    Lost heart and in an over sad spirit
    Refused to take courage again,
    Neither eating or drinking nor speaking
    To anxious wife, children or friends,
    Till Katherine dons widow garments
    and deepest of mourning pretends.

    Surprised, Luther asked why she sorrowed.
    “Dear Doctor,” his Katie replied,
    “I have cause for the saddest of weeping,
    For God in His heaven has died!”
    Her gentle rebuke did not fail him,
    He laughingly kissed his wise spouse,
    Took courage, and banished his sorrow,
    And joy again reigned in the house.

In Isaiah 55:8 God declares, “for my thoughts are not your thoughts …” Among other things, this verse declares the transcendence of God, that He is far beyond, different, and totally independent from all else in the universe. Even with His precious Word, we fall far short of thinking, loving, or acting like God, or of even being able to really understand His ways.

Listen to the words of Isaiah 46:8-11:

Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you transgressors. 9 Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.

So God asks us not to think and behave according to what we see, according to our understanding of the events of our lives and the world around us. Instead, He calls us to live by faith in His Word, in His sovereign purposes, and in His majestic being. Though His ways and thoughts transcend ours, He calls us to be comforted and to comfort one another as we face the difficulties of life with “behold your God, your God reigns!”

First Corinthians 10:6 and 11 teach us that God’s dealings with Israel as a nation provide examples of God’s dealings with us as individuals and as the church of Jesus Christ. From His dealings with Israel and His revelation to them we can draw certain parallels and lessons for our lives.

Though the Old Testament was not always directed to us, it is always for us. The Old Testament had a certain meaning and interpretation for Israel and the world, both then and now. Based on this, it has application and spiritual parallels for us with the New Testament as God’s final index. Much of this section of Isaiah is quoted in the New Testament.

The Purpose of Comfort

People need encouragement. People need the Lord. People need to know the comfort of God. But the encouragement of Scripture is not simply designed to make us feel better or remove our pain. God loves us and He cares about our pain, but His comfort is always designed to lift us out of the mire of our discouragement that we might have the wisdom and vision to grasp the enduring purposes of God along with God’s strength to run the race the Lord has set before us (Heb. 12:1-3).

Note this emphasis in the following passages:

Isaiah 40:29-31 He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. 30 Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, 30 Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Psalm 40:1-10 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. 3 And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear, And will trust in the LORD. 4 How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood. 5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which Thou hast done, And Thy thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with Thee; If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count. 6 Sacrifice and meal offering Thou hast not desired; My ears Thou hast opened; Burnt offering and sin offering Thou hast not required. Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me; I delight to do Thy will, O my God; Thy Law is within my heart.” 9 I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation; Behold, I will not restrain my lips, O LORD, Thou knowest. 10 I have not hidden Thy righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation; I have not concealed Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth from the great congregation.

None of us knows exactly what our future holds but, as believers, we do know Him who holds the future. Still, one thing is certain: each of us, in one form or another and to one degree or another, will face suffering, trials, pressures, and heartache in our journey through life. Let’s not allow the difficulties of the past, nor the possibility of difficulties in the future to negatively affect us or keep us from experiencing God’s healing and comfort, and from developing a vision for God’s purpose.

If we are also to experience God’s blessing, joy, peace, strength, fulfillment, growth, along with His purpose in the midst of our trials and heartaches, we must appropriate and experience the comfort God offers to His people through the Word.

Historical Background

The first 39 chapters of Isaiah deal with judgment upon the nations for their indifference to God and His Word. This included both the northern kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah. The northern kingdom of Israel had already been taken into captivity by the Assyrians when the Prophet wrote the book of Isaiah. In another 90 years, the southern kingdom of Judah would go into the Babylonian captivity. There Judah would be disciplined by the Lord for her disobedience and rebellion for 70 years.

In view of the nations’ present troubles and the coming invasion and captivity by the Babylonians, in chapters 40-66 Isaiah (under the inspiration of the Almighty) proclaims comfort to the people of God. Writing prophetically, the Prophet views Judah as on the eve of her restoration at the close of the 70 years. Ultimately, he depicts Israel’s (the two kingdoms united) final restoration following the tribulation or the blessings of the millennium with the coming of the Lord as her ultimate hope and comfort.

In one sense, this is analogous to the church during her time here on earth. This is a time of affliction and spiritual warfare, anticipation of the rapture and the Lord’s return followed by the tribulation, the restoration of the world and God’s kingdom on earth. These verses are full of principles which the believer may draw upon for comfort and strength in any age.

Though the nation had been founded on the absolutes of God’s Word and His covenant relationship with them, they had turned away from the Lord and His Word. They had ceased to find their real hope, comfort, and meaning in life from the Lord and His purpose for the nation.

As a result, the nation experienced two things:

(1) The despair of the futility of life without a close walk with God. In other words, the futility of man’s substitutes or strategies (Isa. 2:6-8).

(2) But, as always happens, they were also experiencing the despair of spiritual, moral, political, and social decadence on every hand. These were the marks of a nation in rebellion and under God’s judgment because they had turned away from His Word (1:21-23; 3:1-4, 8-9).

Because of the nations’ present troubles (her futility and moral breakdown), and because of the coming invasion and captivity by the Babylonians, Isaiah, the inspired prophet, proclaims comfort to the people of God in chapter 40-66.

But please note, the comfort of the chapters which follow Isaiah 40 is nothing less than the good news of the incomparable majesty of God, and the good news of Messiah in both His sufferings as the Lamb of God and His reign as the Lion of Judah.

Judah was not yet even in captivity, but Isaiah wrote prophetically or proleptically of two deliverances:

(1) He envisioned the nation as on the eve of her restoration at the close of the 70 years just as the Lord had promised.

(2) He envisioned Judah’s ultimate hope and comfort: he depicted the nation’s final restoration, following the tribulation, in the blessings of the millennium with the coming of the Lord in His glorious reign of peace and righteousness on earth.

How does this apply to us, and how do such remote promises bring comfort in our present distresses? In one sense, this is analogous to the church in her time or sojourn here on earth. The Bible views this age as a time of darkness, affliction, and spiritual warfare in which we, as God’s people, are to represent the Lord as His ambassadors. But, if we are going to be successful in this, we must be always looking with anticipation and living for the return of the Lord for the church, and the restoration of the world under God’s kingdom on earth. A great illustration of this is found in 2 Corinthians 4. In a context in which he describes the trials of the ministry (4:7-15), the Apostle concluded with these words:

2 Cor. 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The possibility of the return of the Lord at any moment is to have a great influence on our daily lives. The old saying, “he’s so heavenly minded he’s of no earthly good” is a misnomer. To be heavenly minded in the biblical sense is to labor here on earth for the Lord, not in our own ability, but in His, knowing that because of the glorious future our labor is never in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (NIV)

In another sense, Isaiah’s focus in these chapters reminds us that real comfort, comfort that leads to strength, must come from fellowship with an incomparable God through the Savior/Messiah and the knowledge of His Word.

Isaiah 40 is a passage filled with principles which any believer may draw upon for comfort and strength in any age. It is a comfort and strength however which should lead us as individuals (and as churches) to experience the promise of Isaiah 40:31 and Daniel 11:32.

Isaiah 40:31. Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Daniel 11:32 was spoken in a context that deals with trouble and persecution, even in the very difficult days of the tribulation:

And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.

Isaiah 40 has a special message for the leadership and congregation alike. Don’t miss the fact this chapter is addressed to both those who proclaim the Word and to those who are to hear it. As such, it contains principles that are vital to all of us.

The Plea to Comfort God’s People
(40:1-2)

The Purpose of The Plea (vs. 1)

Obviously the goal is comfort for God’s people. But a careful analysis of this text will reveal a number of spiritual truths that are important to our ability to experience God’s comfort.

    The Comforters

The verb, “comfort,” is a command. God is giving a command to someone and the experience of comfort is dependent on obedience to this command. Also, the verb comfort is a second person plural which means it is addressed to more than one person. In good old Texas style it means “y’all comfort.” God is the speaker who is addressing the prophets (plural), the heralds and ministers of the Word.

“Comfort” is the Hebrew n~j~m@, (mj~n`) “be sorry, repent, be comforted, comfort.” “The original root seems to reflect the idea of ‘breathing deeply,’ hence the physical display of one’s feelings, usually sorrow, compassion, or comfort” perhaps as one takes in a deep sigh of relief as he experiences God’s comfort.1 This is an intensive stem, the piel, and so it means “to comfort.” This same word occurs in Ps. 23:4, “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” This Hebrew word speaks of bringing spiritual, emotional, and mental relief to the hearts of men.

As this chapter will illustrate in several places, God’s key means of comfort for His people is through the proclamation of His Word through those who will be faithful heralds of Scripture. People need to be under the faithful teaching of the Bible (Rom. 10:17). This passage illustrates the responsibility to preach and to hear the Word of God (2 Tim. 4:1f).

    The Repetition of the Call to Comfort

There is an emphatic repetition of the word “comfort.” This repetition stresses several things:

(1) Regardless of the difficulties of our days and our lack of understanding of His ways, God cares. The repetition stresses God’s care and desire for His people to experience His comfort. He is not indifferent to our needs. (1 Pet. 5:7; Rom. 8:32).

(2) The repetition also stresses our need of comfort because of our frailty and because of the nature of our times. We live in evil days, days full of deception, sin, and despair. Remember, Paul calls these days “difficult times” and times that are going to get worse with men deceiving and being deceived.

Hence, the great need is for the Word of God. Why? Because of the nature and character of Scripture. It is God-breathed, without error, profitable for equipping us for life, and alive, powerful, and able to penetrate into the innermost recesses of man’s troubled heart. Indeed, it is the incorruptible seed that lives and abides forever and that is ever bringing forth life and life abundantly (Isa. 40:6-8).

(3) The repetition also stresses the richness of the comfort offered to the people of God in the message of the Bible. The world has no real comfort to offer. Only the church of Jesus Christ with the Bible has a message of real comfort, the kind that can take us through thick or the thin, even through death.

Again, let us be reminded that the satanically controlled world has many substitutes. Man, in his fallenness and vain imaginations, has his own strategies for finding happiness—alcohol, drugs, power, praise, position, possessions, defense mechanisms, etc. But all these strategies leave one’s life in a void which in turn either: (a) drives people deeper and deeper into the despair of their futility or (b) calluses and hardens them against trusting God or both.

Have you ever noticed that a Bible which is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t. The key to comfort and stability is “thus says the Lord” and not the solutions the world offers (cf. John 14:26-27).

(4) The repetition also reminds us of the responsibility of God’s people to heed the principles set forth in this passage. This repetition lays stress on a double responsibility: (a) the responsibility of men in charge of shepherding God’s flock to preach the Word (2 Tim. 4:1-5) and (b) for all of God’s people to get involved with one another in the ministry of encouragement as emphasized in Hebrews 10:24-25 (public assembly) and 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (private or personal fellowship).

    The Recipients of God’s Comfort

The comfort is offered to those called “my people.” This refers to (a) God’s covenant people who were related to the Lord through the promises of the Old Testament, and (b) who were also the recipients of God’s promises concerning the coming Messiah/Savior.

By application for us today this means that only those who are rightly related to God through faith in the New Covenant accomplished through the person and work of Christ, the Redeemer, can know and experience the comfort God offers. This means that if you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior by having trusted in Him, you will never find purpose in life or real inner peace.

But this also means something else for all who know the Lord. The comfort of God is centered in Jesus Christ and comes from learning to cling to Him. But how do we do that? What does that mean? It means we must know and believe God’s promises and respond in faith rather than turn to our own solutions. The following diagram with the passages involved illustrate the two choices open to us and the biblical process we need to choose.

The Method Employed (vs. 2a)

“Speak kindly” (NAS), “speak tenderly” (NIV), “speak ye comfortably” (KJV). Literally, the text has “speak to or upon the heart.” The verb is the Hebrew, D~B~r (rb~d`). Dabar stresses the activity of speech more than the content, though that is not absent. There is in this word a certain emphasis on the personal element, the element of communication between persons who are close.

May I suggest several things by way of application:

(1) Scripture is God’s personal and loving communication to man from which comes the only real comfort for life. The words of Scripture are aimed at the heart, the inner man.

(2) This also points to the need for a personal and loving relationship between God’s people. People respond to God’s Word best in an environment of love and acceptance. Cold, harsh, impersonal teaching most often fails to touch the heart and fails to bring about change. The words of Scripture are pictured as falling upon the heart like a gentle breeze that refreshes and comforts on a hot and blistering day. Ultimately, the only thing which can bring real comfort is the Word of God because this is how God, as the God of all comfort, speaks to us and assures us of His everlasting love, of His sovereign control, and infinite wisdom (Ps. 138:1-3; Rom. 15:4-5).

(3) To affect the heart, the Word must also be borne by the Spirit of God. This stresses to us that our preaching, teaching, and personal encouragement to others must be preceded by much prayer, dependence on the Lord, and soul searching (Ps. 139:23-24; Eph. 3:16f).

If the ministry of the Word of God is to be effective, if it is to result in changed lives and lives that reach out to others, it must be aimed at the heart. But that’s not all. God continues and says:

“And call out to her” (vs. 2a). The verb “call” is the Hebrew, q~r~a (ar`q`), which refers to a strong and clear proclamation. Though spoken tenderly and in love, God’s Word is to be proclaimed in a bold and decisive manner; there is to be no hesitancy or uncertainty or indecisiveness in its proclamation.

The capacity to comfort people in a manner that leads them on to growth and effectiveness comes from the clear understanding of the message of the Bible as God’s Holy Word. It never ever comes from the vain substitutes or strategies that we all are so prone to lean on or use for our happiness (cf. Isa. 8:19-20).

According to the directives of Scripture, which are our authority for belief and practice, our needs and responsibilities regarding the Word of God may be summarized as follows:

(1) We are to declare the Word, i.e., “preach the Word” (2 Tim. 4:1-4), read it (1 Tim. 4:13), and teach it (1 Tim. 4:11).

(2) We are to desire and love the Word, i.e., “have ears to hear” (Matt. 11:14; Mark 4:23; Rev. 2:7; Ps. 119:140) so that we listen, memorize, and meditate on Scripture.

(3) We are to be careful with the Word regarding two things: (a) What we hear (Mark 4:24)—we can hear the wrong teachers, listen to the wrong message because of Satan’s delusion. (b) How we hear (Luke 8:18)—we can listen in the wrong way: without faith, without dependence on the Spirit, or we can hear with our ears, but our prejudices or preconceived notions have dulled our ability to listen with an objective and teachable spirit. Basically, this means a deep respect for the character and authority of the Bible over our lives (Isa. 66:2).

(4) We are to be diligent to study the Word and know it accurately (2 Tim. 2:15).

(5) We are to be doers of the Word (Jam. 1:22-26) We are to be deeply concerned about application, applying what we hear.

The Message Proclaimed (vs. 2b)

Verses 1 and 2 form a prologue to the chapter and present us with part of the consolation of this passage. Remember, it is proleptic, it anticipates the future as already existing because of the sovereignty of God. From our standpoint today, some of this already exists because of the first advent of Christ, though we still wait for the second coming and all the glories that will follow.

Note each of the clauses beginning with “that.” This directs our attention to the content of the first message or the three areas of comfort that Israel needed to hear and likewise with us.

    Israel’s warfare has ended

“Warfare” (tsaba’) is used (a) of an appointed time of service, or a duty similar to a soldier’s enlistment in the service, (b) of all of life as a warfare to which we are enlisted involving hard service, trials, and calamities (cf. Job. 7:1; 14:14), and (c) of any time of hardship or trial regardless of the reason.

Because of the law of double fulfillment in prophecy, Isaiah had in view two things:

(1) From the immediate fulfillment aspect, the end of the Babylonian captivity is in view. Judah’s time in Babylon would be short lived; God would soon restore the nation, and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah deal with God’s sovereign actions to accomplish this restoration. This assured them that God had not forgotten His promises to Abraham, that God was at work and would fulfill His promises.

(2) From the far or remote fulfillment aspect, the end of the tribulation in the last days just before the return of the Lord is in view. This too was to remind them God had not forsaken them, indeed He would actively work on Israel’s (both kingdoms) behalf to bring the nation back to Him and to fulfill His covenant promises to the nation.

By way of application for us:

(1) We can apply the promise “that her warfare has ended” to our own situation because the New Testament views our life here on earth as a temporary sojourn and a tour of duty as soldiers in the service of our King (cf. 2 Tim. 2:3, 4 with 4:6-18 and 1 Pet. 1:12, 13, 17).

(2) We are not now in the millennium. We are in a time of battle with insidious forces of evil, but our tour of duty, the season of the night is almost gone (Rom. 13:11-14). The day is at hand and never has there been greater reason to look up by virtue of world conditions as today. While the church does not look for signs because the coming of the Lord is imminent (could happen at any moment), it would seems that certain conditions would be needed to prepare the world for the events of the Tribulation like the continual rise of apostasy and the one world movement going on today. This would naturally suggest the coming of the Lord could very well be just around the corner.

(3) The promise of the cessation of our warfare, regardless of whether the rapture or the events of 1 Thessalonians 4:13f occur in our life or not, certainly anticipates the glorious future of both Israel and the church. For the church, it calls us (1) to live as sojourners, (2) to recognize we are not in Eden or the Millennium as yet, and (3) not to expect this sin-ridden world to provide what only life with God ruling on earth can give (Tit. 2:11f; 1 Pet. 1:13; 2 Thess. 1:6f).

    Her iniquity has been removed

“Iniquity” refers to the series of rebellions, corruption and idolatry of Judah and Israel that God would purge away, partially by the two captivities, and then completely by the Tribulation, a time when God will purge out the rebels of Israel and bring the rest of the nation to repentance (cf. Hos. 5:14-15; Jer. 30:7f; Ezek. 20:33-39).

Ultimately, however, the removal of iniquity refers to the redemptive work of Messiah/Savior (Isa. 53). It is this alone which provides the basis for our forgiveness through the payment of our sin and our reconciliation to a Holy God through the person and finished work of Christ.

“Has been removed” states this as an accomplished fact. Though speaking prophetically, Isaiah declares this as an accomplished fact because God is sovereign and in control. He is perfectly faithful and true to His word.

By way of application for us today:

(1) It refers to our redemption in Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sin, and the privilege of fellowship with God now.

(2) It reminds us that the trials of this life, which make up part of our warfare, are one of the tools that God uses to remove the dross and impurities from our lives in the process of sanctification, though always, the basis of our forgiveness is the cross.

Knowing the truth of our forgiveness based on the finished work of Christ, and knowing how God uses suffering as a tool of growth and cleansing, and accepting the necessity of suffering in our lives as the work of a loving and wise God is a great source of comfort and joy if we will just accept it in faith. It emphatically declares our acceptance, security, and significance. It also declares God loves us and accepts us in grace, though He is committed to our sanctification (cf. Jam. 1:2-4; 1 Pet. 1:6, 7).

    She has received double for her sins

“Double” is simply idiomatic or metaphorical for all that is necessary to accomplish the job. It emphasizes that God does what is necessary to accomplish His purposes (cf. Phil. 1:6; 1 Pet. 1:6; Heb. 12:5f; and John 15:1f).

Does life seem to be unfair? Are you under pressures that you just don’t understand? Are you experiencing the despair of man’s futility? If so, you can be sure God is at work and He has not forgotten you. He is just not finished with you yet.

The Preparation for Comfort
(40:3-8)

Remember that, under God’s directions, Isaiah was writing to bring comfort to God’s people who would become exiles in Babylon in a little less than a hundred years. Furthermore, Judah was in a spiritual wilderness and would remain there (except for a remnant of people) for centuries. Well, what about the promises to Abraham and to David? Was God going to forsake His people? How were God’s people to handle the coming invasion, the exile, and the continued domination by Gentile powers? As already suggested, this chapter tells us how.

One of the key notes of this chapter is the coming of the Lord (vs. 10) and the revelation of His glory to the world (vs. 5). The Lord is coming in a mighty way, but before He does, certain things are necessary. Israel must be prepared spiritually for the Lord. That He will not return and manifest His glory to a stubborn, unrepentant, and stiff-necked people was one of the themes of the Old Testament prophets. So the theme of verses 3-8 is PREPARATION, the preparation necessary for God’s people to experience the Lord, first in His comfort now, and ultimately in His personal coming.

But before we are given this message of preparation, we are introduced to the messenger.

The Messenger of Preparation (vs. 3a)

The messenger is left unidentified. He is viewed as simply a voice. Actually, three voices are mentioned (vss. 3, 6, 9). This may have in mind the ancient near eastern custom of sending representatives ahead to prepare the way for the visit of a monarch. So, important to a proper response to the king is the messenger, his message, obedience to his message, and the preparation for the coming of the King.

Significantly, the identity of the messenger is not revealed because the crucial issue is the message, not the man. The messenger pales by comparison to the message. It’s never the personality that is important, though his character needs to back up his words to demonstrate the authenticity of the message. It is the message that is important because it is the message which is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). We must ever recognize that as human beings we are but earthen vessels, mere instruments that God has chosen to use to reveal His eternal truth (1 Cor. 2:1-5; 3:4-8; 2 Cor. 4:5-7; Rev. 19:10; 22:8-9).

Though Isaiah was the voice in his day, from the New Testament we learn the identity of the voice. It is John the Baptist. All the gospels apply this passage to John (Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23). John was the precursor or forerunner of Messiah in His first advent to earth. John himself clearly understood his virtual unimportance because, when asked who he was, he denied that he was anything but “a voice crying in the wilderness.” Later, he said, “He (speaking of the Lord) must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Likewise it should be with all of us. We have been left here to represent the Lord Jesus as His witnesses. We are not to promote ourselves. But too often we seek to find our significance and security and comfort in the opinions of men or in position, praise, and applause rather than in the Lord and what we have in Him. In doing so we not only fail to experience real comfort, but we become sources of pain for others.

The Message of Preparation (vss. 3b-8)

    Removal of the obstacles (vss. 3-4)

3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (KJV)

3 A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.” (NIV)

The Hebrew is to be read as the NIV. The Hebrew construction lays stress on the spiritual preparation that was greatly needed in the life of the nation because of its wilderness condition. Literally, as the NIV translates according to the word order, the text reads:

In the wilderness prepare or clear the way of the Lord, Make smooth or straight in the desert a highway for our God (emphasis mine).

This is what is called a chiastic construction (Greek ciasma, cross-piece, from ciazein, to mark with an X, from the Greek letter ci, which has the shape of an X (c). It lays stress on the elements in the center of the verse. We can show this as follows:

  • In the wilderness

    prepare the way of the Lord

    Make smooth

  • in the desert a highway for our God.

This construction focuses the reader on the target or central points of the statements. Because the nation was in a wilderness or desert-like condition, certain actions must be accomplished by way of preparation before the people will be ready to truly respond to the Lord. The first command suggests the need to remove any obstacles that may be in the way as well as arranging things in proper order. The second command suggests preparing a special road, a raised causeway, a super highway, like our freeways.

In the New Testament, John came preaching in the wilderness and so the words of the prophet were applied to John like the KJV translation, as one preaching in the wilderness, but John undoubtedly did this because the desert portrayed Israel’s spiritual condition. John’s emphasis was clearly on Israel’s need of spiritual preparation.

How do we understand these words about preparing a way for the Lord? What does this mean? May I suggest several things.

First, for Isaiah’s day, these verses may have had a more immediate application for the Jews who would, in less than one hundred years, be taken into exile as discipline from the Lord. Isaiah’s words undoubtedly anticipated the coming of the Lord in the sense of His providential work to return Israel to their homeland from the Babylonian captivity following the 70 years as later prophesied by Jeremiah the prophet (cf. Jer. 29:10; Dan. 9:2). Note that Jeremiah 29:10 portrays the Lord as visiting His people to take them back to their land. But even then, only a remnant returned, those who had removed the obstacles of apathy and self-centeredness from their hearts so that they meant business with the Lord. Many simply refused to return because they had become prosperous in the land of their captivity. They had no burden for God’s purposes for the nation. They were unconcerned about being involved in the work of God. For them, it was simply business as usual.

Furthermore, if the people were to experience God’s comfort from the promises of this message, they must deal with the barriers in their own hearts, barriers like unbelief and complaining. See verses 27-31.

But, as we saw above, verses 3-4 also look beyond the immediate time of Isaiah to the time of John the Baptist. Compare Malachi 4:5-6 with the announcement of John’s birth to Zacharias in Luke 1:15-17. John was sent by God as Messiah’s forerunner to prepare the people of Israel for Christ’s first advent.

(1) He came preaching in the wilderness and proclaiming a message of repentance to prepare people so they might see their need of a righteousness that exceeded the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.

(2) He came to cause them to see their sinfulness so they might turn from trusting in their religious externalism and self-righteous ways to trust in their Messiah not just as the King who would reign, but as the Savior who must die.

(3) John came to get Israel to remove the obstacles of their self-righteous externalism which, if not removed, would keep the nation as a whole from excepting their Messiah at His first advent.

But this does not exhaust the meaning of Isaiah 40:3-4. Because Israel rejected John’s message and the Lord, John did not fulfill Malachi’s prophecy which must await a later fulfillment (cf. Matt. 11:14; 17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13).

So Isaiah 40:3-4 anticipates another set of events and persons in preparation for the coming of the Lord at the second advent. This seems clear from the strong wording of verses 3b, “a highway for our God,” and similar elements of verse 4. The second advent alone can exhaust the meaning of these two verses.

Before the return of the Lord at His second advent, there will be another preparation, only this time, in addition to the spiritual preparation accomplished by the Tribulation and its special witnesses, God will bring about special changes in the topography of the land and in the political conditions of the world at the second coming of Christ to earth (cf. Zech. 14:1-5; Micah 1:3-4). This will literally prepare a highway for Messiah’s entrance into Jerusalem and for His glorious and universal reign in the millennium.

By way of personal application for us today, note several points:

(1) Verses 3 and 4 remind us that we too can have obstacles and impediments in our lives which hinder and stand in the way of God’s blessing because of our inability to respond to what the Lord means to us as His people. These obstacles hinder His reign over our hearts and our capacity to experience His comfort and our ability to serve the Lord.

(2) A major obstacle is a preoccupation with the present and our problems combined with an attitude that thinks God does not care or is indifferent to our needs (cf. 40:27). A prepared heart is one that looks beyond the present to the sure promises of a loving and caring God. AS Israel was to live in view of the certainty of the coming of the Lord, SO we are to live in view of both advents of the Lord. The fact that He has come as our suffering Savior and will come as the King of kings should positively impact the way we live (see Tit. 2:11-14).

(3) In the light of John the Baptist’s message of repentance and the verses that follow in Isaiah 40 proclaiming man’s temporality and the incomparable greatness of God, another barrier is a lack of repentance. The issue before us is a deep down repentance that recognizes our sinfulness as displayed in our self-sufficient, self-seeking ways by which we seek to handle life. Without this, we will not turn to the Lord as our only source of deliverance and comfort.

You see, one of the great goals of repentance and confession is to learn dependence and faith. It is designed to turn us FROM our own strategies by which we seek to handle life TO knowing, trusting, and loving God.

    The Revelation of God’s Glory (vs. 5)

Please note the “then” that begins verse 5. The revelation of the glory of the Lord is a consequence of the preparation that has proceeded it. The glory of the Lord refers to the essence of God’s holy character and power, but the revelation of His glory refers to some historical act by which God reveals His character and power.

Of course, Isaiah has in mind the coming of the Lord in the person of Messiah in His appearance among men. Isaiah spoke of both the sufferings, especially His substitutionary death, and the glories of Messiah, His reign, but the prophet evidently did not see the great time separation between the two. This was often a problem for the prophets as we are told by Peter in 1 Peter 1:10-11. Listen to the translation of the NIV.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. (NIV)

Though all the disciples saw Christ’s glory in the sense of John 1:14, only some of the disciples, Peter, James, and John, were given a glimpse of His millennial glory through the transfiguration. In His second advent, the whole world will see His glory through His glorious return and the events associated with it (cf. Mark 9:1-9).

Verse 5 then shows us that the glory of the Lord will be revealed—a reference to the two advents of Christ. But only when men prepare their hearts and respond to God’s message will they be able to see and experience the glory of God’s salvation.

This was true at the first advent when only a remnant recognized their sinfulness and responded by faith to Jesus as their Messiah. It has likewise been true during the church age for Jews and Gentiles alike. But it is also true in reference to the second advent and Christ’s return to earth as the Savior who will reign. Let me explain:

The Tribulation—the time of Jacob’s trouble—is designed to prepare the way of the Lord through its catastrophic judgments, through the ministries of the 144,000, the special ministry of the angels of the apocalypse, and through the two witnesses of Revelation 11. The Tribulation will bring Israel to her knees so that she repents and returns to the Lord. One of the messages of the prophets is that the Lord will not return until Israel repents and turns from her self-righteous ways and returns to the Lord (cf. Joel 2; Zech. 1:3; Mal. 3:7; Jer. 29:12-14). The Lord will then return to earth to destroy His and Israel’s enemies and establish the Kingdom, but it is the events of the Tribulation, the day of God’s indignation or wrath also known as the time of Jacob’s trouble, that will accomplish this (Jer. 30:7).

With verses 6-8, we turn to the third aspect of the message. This next part of the message builds on the last two phrases of verse 5, the words “all flesh” and “the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Understanding the significance of these words is crucial for turning to the Lord and knowing His comfort.

    Man’s Condition and the Faithfulness of God’s Word (vss. 6-8)

The final thrust of the message in verses 6-8 is on the frailty and temporality of man versus the eternality of God and His Word. For man to exercise faith in God’s grace provision, certain things are essential. Here, the voice is probably that of the Lord telling Isaiah what to call out.

Before a man will reach out for God’s salvation so he can experience God’s comfort, he must face the reality of what he is—mere flesh. Men must realize their sinfulness and inability, repudiate any form of self-trust, and then rely on God’s provision.

“All flesh” calls to mind two things:

(1) All flesh looks at mankind in general. It looks at man in his natural state as he exists in his human body, in his natural life, born to natural parents, and so spiritually dead, without the new birth, the second birth from above by the eternal Word and the Spirit of God.

John 3:3-6 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” 4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

1 Pet. 1:23-25 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you (NIV).

(2) For believers, “all flesh” calls to mind the futility of life when we are walking in the energy of the flesh, by our sinful nature, trusting in ourselves and our own pursuits or solutions rather than walking by the Spirit of God and living by trust in the Word (Jer. 17).

Jeremiah 17:5-6 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives” (NIV).

Man is like grass that produces the lovely flowers of the field. All man’s glory—his exploits, inventions, ideologies, accomplishments, kingdoms, strengths, his self-made religions or religious strivings, everything in which he glories—is like the grass that withers and the flower of grass that fades. Man’s accomplishments are often glorious and beautiful in the morning, but in a short time, like the flowers under the hot Palestinian sun, they soon becomes scorched, withered, and gone, lost forever. Isaiah has in view the climatic conditions of Palestine. In the morning after a cool night with its dew, the hills would be an array of colors from the flowers that would spring up during the night, but before the evening, because of the hot Palestinian sun and the dry scorching winds, they would be scorched and withered.

Some points to ponder:

(1) God wants us to reckon with the fact of our frailty, inability, and the transient, fleeting nature of life apart from Him.

(2) He wants us to see that, in ourselves, we can produce nothing that lasts or that we can take into eternity or that can take us into eternity with God.

(3) He wants us to see that when man does not base his life on the foundation of God’s Word, and attempts to live without a deep trust in God, then all his ideologies, ideas, purposes, hopes, dreams, accomplishments, and his strategies for life are temporary and futile.

The most majestic of man’s glory is still only flesh. Remember our Lord’s word in John 6:63? He said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Fleshly man, man in his natural state, is simply insufficient to break the barrier of time and extend beyond this life or even give him the true meaning in this life.

Isaiah closed these verses with “But the word of our God stands forever” (vs. 8b). Isaiah calls our attention to the eternal character of God’s ALL-SUFFICIENT WORD, the inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed Bible that has stood the test of time regardless of man’s and Satan’s attempts to stamp it out. It is this Book, the Holy Bible, the Word of God, that is the means, along with the Spirit of God, by which we are begotten to new life, can find strength for this life, and can count for eternity (1 Pet. 1:23; Jam. 1:21). In other words, it is God’s Holy Word that gives comfort because, regardless of the temporality of one’s life, regardless of what transpires in history during one’s life, God’s sure Word, when believed and acted on, does several marvelous things:

(1) It brings us into fellowship with God through its message of salvation through Christ and gives us eternal life. It extends our life into the eternal future with God and firmly assures us God’s promises will be fulfilled.

(2) It is the basis for making this life count for eternity, for taking us beyond the superficial, the plastic, and the temporal. It takes our lives out of the realm of futility and into the realm of eternal meaning with eternal rewards (cf. Ecc. 1:7; Ps. 90:12; 39:4-6; 2 Cor. 4:16-18).

Psalm 39:4-6 Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Selah Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. (NIV)

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (NIV)

(3) God’s eternal Word becomes the means of strength and comfort, peace and joy in the ups and downs of this life, not as the world gives, but as only the Lord Jesus gives through His Word (Isa. 40:31).

As with Israel, we too have the promise of seeing and experiencing God’s glory through the person of Jesus Christ. For instance, Christ in the believer is the hope of glory, the glory of a transformed life, the glory of a resurrected body, the glory of rewards, and the guaranteed glory of heaven.

But there are obstacles which stand in the way. For the unbeliever as well as Jews, there is the obstacle of self-trust. For believers in Christ, for those who have trusted in the Savior, the resurrected body and heaven are guaranteed by the finished work of Christ, but the glory of a transformed life and eternal rewards are not. To experience these, we must make way for the Lord, we must remove the impediments, the things standing in the way of our walk with God (note Isa. 57:14).

Compare the following:

  • Failure to rest in the full sufficiency of the finished work of Christ, or hanging on to dead works in the form of legalism, mysticism, or asceticism, stands as an obstacle to growth and spiritual deliverance (Col. 2:8-23; 3:1f; Heb. 9:14; Gal. 2:21; 5:1-7).
  • Failure to properly deal with sin in one’s life becomes an obstacle to walking under the control and power of the Spirit (1 John 1:8-10; Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19).
  • Wrong relationships in marriage likewise become obstacles to one’s prayer life (1 Pet. 3:7).
  • Failing to confess sin in the life is an obstacle to prayer. Note that most of the sins mentioned in Isa. 59:1-3 deal with trusting in man’s strategies for handling life (Ps. 32:3-5; 66:18; Jam. 4:3; Isa. 1:15; 59:1-3).
  • Failure to deal with known sin through confession is an obstacle to hungering for the Word, to understanding Scripture, and to its proper impact on one’s life (Jam. 1:20-21; 1 Pet. 2:1-3).
  • Living as earthdwellers, making this life and its pleasures our prime objective, rather than living as sojourners is a tremendous obstacle to living as God’s people, as believer priests (1 Pet. 1:17-2:3, 11).
  • Failing to deal with areas of weakness and failing to keep our focus on the Lord becomes another obstacle to running the race the Lord has laid out before us (Heb. 12:1-3).
  • Failing to see the various pressures of life as the work of God’s loving discipline to train and shape us, becomes an obstacle to growth and the experience of God’s power in life (Heb. 12:5-15).
  • Failing to make proper preparations for worship in any form becomes an obstacle to true worship— worship in spirit and truth, worship that affects the heart and has an impact on the life for change, ministry, and glory to God (Luke 22:7-9; 1 Cor. 11:28f; John 4:23-24).
  • Failure to abide by the law of love often creates obstacles for others in their walk with the Lord (Rom. 14:13).

The Prescription for Comfort
(40:9-31)

The Primary Procedure (vss. 9, 18, 25-26)

Verse 9 calls on the prophet, and by application for today, it also calls on us to proclaim one of the most important messages God’s people can know and proclaim, the message of “Here is your God.” Older translations like the KJV, ASV, and the RSV translated this as “Behold your God” following the normal translation of the Hebrew, h#nn@h, an interjection designed to arrest and focus the attention on an object because of its importance in the argument or purpose of the writer. The newer translations like the NASB, NIV, and NRSV evidently follow the idea advanced by T. O. Lambdin, who suggests that sometimes h#nn@h is used to state the existence of something. “It differs from yesh in that it emphasizes the immediacy, the here-and-now-ness, of the situation.”2 Interestingly, in the very next verse, h#nn@h is used twice and is translated, “behold” or “see” in the versions.

Regardless, clearly the occasion or means of comfort comes from placing one’s attention or focus on God who is here revealed and proclaimed in four wonderful ways:

  • He is a Personal God, “behold your God” (vs. 9),
  • He is a mighty Deliverer and King who will come “with His arm ruling for Him” (vs. 10a),
  • He is a Rewarder, “Behold, His reward it with Him …” (vs. 10b), and
  • He is a Shepherd, “Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, …” (vs. 11).

As these verses make clear, “Behold your God” points to the person of the Lord in His future coming to Zion or Jerusalem and His salvation for Israel and the world.

(1) Isaiah has in mind God’s saving activity for the nation in God’s work to return Judah from the Babylonian exile. He is saying God is going to come and deal with your exile. His judgment is temporary, but His love and faithfulness to His promises are everlasting.

(2) But primarily, the prophet has in mind the coming of Christ in what we now know as His first and second advents and what His personal coming means to Israel and to the rest of mankind. The primary emphasis of these verses is on the second advent, but the second advent presupposes the first advent and Christ’s death, resurrection, ascension, and session at God’s right hand since these historical events form the basis for the Savior’s victorious return and reign on earth (cf. Rev. 4 and 5).

It is this idea of beholding or maintaining a right focus that becomes the topic and emphasis of the rest of the chapter which, by a series of comparisons and contrasts, focuses the reader’s attention on the Attributes and Activities of God. Note verses 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 25, and 26. Isaiah is saying, “Behold your God.” “Think about the nature and works, the attributes and actions, of your God.” “Let your mind dwell on Him.”

These verses are telling us to behold our God in all His incomparable glory, majestic splendor, and saving grace as He has manifested Himself in creation and in Scripture. And today we can add to that God’s manifestation in His personal coming to earth in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. John 1:1-14; Heb. 1:1-3).

Isaiah is saying, “do you want God’s comfort?” Then always focus on who and what God is as you face the warfare of life, whatever it may bring. Get your eyes on your God. Behold Him, your God reigns.

Isaiah spends most of the rest of chapter 40 helping us to do just that. But before we look at these verses, let’s take a moment to think about the concept of “beholding” or our focus.

    The Concept of Focus

One of the most important and difficult issues for us concerns how well we keep our eyes on the truth of Scripture, especially the truth of God’s PERSON, PLAN, PRINCIPLES, PROMISES, and PURPOSES. Knowing them is one thing. Keeping the mind and heart fixed on them is an entirely different matter.

Of course, we can’t apply what we do not know. But knowing truth is not enough. Knowledge alone can cause arrogance and it can also be deceptive. It can leave us with the impression we are living by the Scripture when in reality we are not. We may know the principles (have knowledge or the wisdom of God’s perspective), but fail to apply it (have spiritual understanding that truly changes the way we live) (Col. 1:9).

One of the keys to applying the Word, living by faith, and waiting on the Lord IS OUR FOCUS. A biblical focus is crucial to three things: (a) to correcting our beliefs and sources of trust, (b) to developing, and maintaining faith, and (c) to cultivating Christlike character in attitudes and actions.

But what do we mean by focus? Does it mean simply to look in a certain direction? No! Not at all.

    A Definition of Focus

The verb “focus,” means “to bring into view, to make something clear.” It means “clarity.” But it also means, “to devote oneself to a task, an idea, or to a person, or to whatever is in the field of focus.” A point of focus is a place of activity, influence, or importance. It is a point of origin from which ideas, beliefs, influences, and controls emerge.

As applied to God and His Word, we are talking about so centering or fixing our minds and hearts on the truths of Scripture concerning God (His person, promises, principles, plan, and purposes) that we not only see them with spiritual clarity, but they become the focal point of our lives, a place of mental activity that in turn corrects our attitudes and values, influences our behavior, and controls our minds, emotions, and wills

2 Cor. 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes (italics mine) not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (NIV)

The Proclamations About God (vss. 9-26)

Since God is the God of all comfort and our only true source of comfort in the final analysis, we will refer to Him as the Comforter.

    Proclamations of His Ways (vss. 9c, 10-11)

(1) He is a personal God who cares. He is “your God” (vs. 9c). That He cares is evident by His call to the prophets to comfort His people (1 Pet. 5:7). He is the transcendent, yet personal and immanent God who desires to sustain and care for us in a personal way, and He is free to do that because we become His people and the object of His personal love through faith in the Lord Jesus.

(2) He is a Deliverer and King (vs. 10a). God has come to deliver men, to save them from their sin, from Satan, and from themselves. He has come to reign, to take over, to take charge of our lives. When Joshua was faced with the man with his sword drawn, Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” But this was no ordinary man. Rather it was a theophany, a divine manifestation of Yahweh who had come as the Captain, the Commander of the armies of the Lord. He had not come to take sides, but to take over. Joshua then fell on his face in worship, recognizing that it was the Lord (cf. Josh. 5:13-15). Furthermore, He will one day return to bring perfect peace to a sin-ridden world.

I remember reading the story of the new believer who began to read his new Bible. Finally he came to the book of Revelation having observed the conflict with Satan and sin throughout the pages of Scripture and their intensification and culmination in Revelation. But when he finished reading Revelation—the conclusion to the whole Bible—he joyfully exclaimed, “We win! We win!”

The hope of His coming again is to bring comfort and become a motivation to service and godly living (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 John 3:1-3). In the meantime, we are to live with the understanding that this life is neither Eden nor the Millennium.

(3) He is a Rewarder (vs. 10b). Our labor in the Lord will never be in vain either for this life or the life to come. (1 Cor. 15:58, “therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”)

(4) He is a Shepherd who tenderly cares for his people. He leads and feeds them (vs. 11). This is a tender picture that portrays God’s love, but it does not mean the removal of our problems. It does, however, guarantee His presence and strength for whatever life may bring whether we are on green pastures or walking through the shadow of death. It reminds us of the presentation of the Lord in the New Testament as the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, and the Chief Shepherd.

    Proclamations of His Being (vss. 12-26)

Note the methodology of this passage. Through a series of rhetorical questions it makes the reader focus on the greatness of our God rather than on the nature and size of our problems. Compared to God, our problems are nothing. This is not to minimize them, for problems are real, cause great pain, and are a personal concern to the Lord. But we must learn to see them against the backdrop of the incomparable majesty of God.

When I think about the greatness of God’s Word and how it points us to God I am reminded of the child’s description of an elevator: “I got into this little room and the upstairs came down.” God’s Word is the little room that brings the reality of God who sits in the heavens, down to the realities of my life.

Note four things about our God:

(1) His power is limitless—God is omnipotent (vs. 12). This stresses the awesome immensity and infinite greatness of the Almighty God. He transcends even the vast universe. God’s immensity and omnipotence are highlighted by the smallness of the measure. He is so omnipotent and great that He has dealt with the vast universe just as finite man deals with the smallest details of his life: with the hollow of his hand, or the span of his hand, or with the small instruments he uses to measure things like a balance or a pair of scales.

(2) His wisdom is unsearchable—God is omniscient (vss. 13, 14). Does the eternal God consult with anyone? Of course not. He is the all-wise God and He doesn’t need my council concerning my life or yours or concerning the way He is running the world. Man in his arrogance and pomp doesn’t like that. We want to tell God how He ought to do things, especially how He ought to let me run my affairs and pave the way for life as I would like it.

This was the lesson that Job had to learn. Job didn’t understand the calamities of his life just as we wouldn’t, and though he originally faced the pain of his trials with trust and recognized that God has the right to give and take away, still, in the process of his testing over time, he grew to be demanding with God. The thin line between legitimately desiring relief and demanding relief from God is thin ice through which we all seem to fall sooner or later.

The fact is the longer we must wait for the relief we want, the greater the struggle becomes to trust God’s wisdom and goodness. Very often, what we want to call trust is little more than the expectation that God is going to remove our pain or the cause of trouble. This kind of trust often settles into a demanding spirit with God that manifests itself, not in rest, but in some form of anger. Like Judah, we feel God has forgotten us, or doesn’t care, or hasn’t given us a fair shake (cf. 40:27).

Compare Job 6:8 (here we see Job’s pain and longing); 9:3 (here we see his unwillingness to argue or be demanding with the Almighty). Now compare this with 13:3; 19:7. In the continuation of his pain, Job changed. Next compare 38:1f with 40:1f and 42:1f. Here God deals with Job’s demanding spirit which also shows us what He thinks about ours.

(3) His authority is absolute—God is sovereign (vss. 15-17). Kingdoms and nations come and go, rise and fall, but “The LORD has established His throne in the heavens and His sovereignty rules over all.” And again, “But our God is in the heavens, He does what He pleases” says the Psalmists (Ps. 103:19; 115:3).

He is no more weighed down or burdened by that [the nations] than a man is burdened by a mere drop of water clinging to a bucket of water he carries, or a pair of scales is affected by an infinitesimal speck of dust settling on it (Isa. 17:13; 29:5).3

(4) His being is incomparable—God is infinite, without limits (vss. 18-26).

The awesome vastness of the heavens which are like a curtain that God has stretched out (vs. 22) ought to swell our hearts with joy and comfort and increase our faith against any obstacle every time we look at the starry heavens. From what I have read, almost anything can be reproduced to scale except the universe. This is shown by the fact that if the earth were represented by a ball one inch in diameter, the nearest star, “Alpha Centaury,” would have to be placed 51,000 miles away. Or to illustrate it another way, the moon, the planets, and the few thousand stars visible to us with the naked eye are as a single drop of water in the boundless sea of the universe. I don’t know exactly how scientists know this, but I have also read that the sun, for instance, is so large that, if it were hollow, it could contain more than one million worlds the size of our earth. Also, there are stars in space so large that they could easily hold 500 million suns the size of ours. There are about 100 billion stars in the average galaxy and there are at least 100 million galaxies in the known universe.4

These verses in Isaiah 40 which make up the majority of this chapter are designed to get us to see our problems no matter how large against the background of our incomparable God.

The problem is that we turn this around. We stand between God and our problems, with our back to God, and we focus on the problems. But by doing so we completely lose sight of God. This has the effect of making a mole hill out of God and a mountain out of our problems from the standpoint of our perspective.

The results are various forms of sinful attitudes and strategies by which we seek to handle our lives like depression, self-pity, complaining, bitterness, demandingness, the instability of wavering back and forth between two opinions (the oscillation blues, like an electric fan), and other forms of defense and escape mechanisms like withdrawal, revenge, overeating, blaming God, blaming others, blaming conditions like the weather, and you name it.

Problems that Hinder Our Comfort (vss. 27-28a)

With verses 27-28, Isaiah touches on one of the problems and consequences of a wrong focus. What does a wrong focus do? It keeps us from experiencing the comfort of the Lord because it blurs our focus and distorts our perspective about the Lord, His love, wisdom, and power. It also distorts our perspective about our problems, their purpose and value and sometimes their seriousness (we sometimes see them as more serious than they are). Furthermore, we lose sight of eternity: laying up eternal treasures and living as sojourners.

To reveal and highlight their problem and ours, Isaiah asks two sets of questions designed to bring reproof and correction. (Remember, Scripture is profitable for reproof (exposure) and correction, 2 Tim. 3:16.)

First, verse 27a asks the question “why.” It is a question of reproof, one designed to expose and cause them to evaluate and examine their ways–their thoughts, attitudes, and actions.

Second, verse 28a, asks questions concerning knowing and hearing the Word about their God. Like the first, it too is designed to expose but with greater emphasis on bringing about correction by pointing them (and us) to one of the main problems—failure to know God and relate our personal lives to God’s greatness through the Word by trust.

B. M. Launderville shares a good illustration:

The vine clings to the oak during the fiercest of storms. Though the violence of nature may uproot the oak, twining tendrils still cling to it. If the vine is on the side of the tree opposite the wind, the great oak is its protection; if it is on the exposed side, the tempest only presses it closer to the trunk.

In some of the storms of life, God intervenes and shelters us. In others, He allows us to be exposed so that we will be pressed more closely to Him.5

    The first question (vs. 27)

Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”? (NIV)

Note first how Isaiah describes the people—as Jacob and Israel—as the people of the covenants of promise whom God had redeemed and to whom God had revealed Himself and given special unconditional promises.

The idea of this question in this context is: Since God is not only the Creator but also the Preserver of all things, even the heavenly bodies, nations, and individual men, how can you, especially as God’s people, with such special unconditional promises and privileges, say that God has forsaken you?

The grammar of the verb “assert,” or “complain” (NIV) (a piel imperfect) and the context suggest this describes repeated, persistent action. Such thinking and complaining had become the pattern of Judah. How quickly we develop such patterns of living.

No information is given as to the precise circumstances under which this complaint is uttered … It is a universal complaint, raised in times of difficulty and adversity.6

The question asked of Jacob and Israel is designed to rebuke and expose, designed to get them to evaluate their thoughts and actions in the light of God’s person. Why? To help them see just how far off they have drifted from anchoring their hope in the Lord. The trials and pressures of life, no matter how severe, are never an indication God has forgotten us or is unconcerned.

What do these words, “My way is hidden from the LORD,” teach us about the hearts and thinking of the people of Judah and about our own hearts?

It could reveal either unbelief or ignorance or maybe both. Such a statement could reveal unbelief in God’s ability to know about all the details of one’s life, or it could reveal ignorance of God’s love and concern to know about one’s affairs and needs, i.e., He is just not interested enough in me to watch out for my needs, or He is too busy and concerned about other things to be bothered about me. But of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Compare the following Old Testament passages where God declares both His knowledge and love or care over Israel (Deut. 11:12; 2 Chron. 16:9; Ps. 34:15; 55:22; Prov. 5:21; 15:3; Amos 9:8).

These statements, however, could also demonstrate the end result of the process of the hardening of the soul. They show the self-pity, bitterness, frustration, rebellion, demandingness, and anger that develops when people who weren’t getting their way fail to behold their God. They think they are neglected by God. It is like the old expression, “Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, guess I’ll go eat worms.”

This seems supported by the next statement of complaint, “… and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God.” In other words, we are not getting a fair shake. Life is not fair!

“Justice” (mishpat) refers here to one’s particular cause or rights in life and to God’s decision to vindicate and take up that cause on their behalf. Listen to Job’s complaint in Job 19:7:

Though I cry, ‘I’ve been wronged!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice. (NIV)

The Hebrew word for “escapes the notice,” is aB^r, which literally means “to pass over or by.” It suggest the picture of someone who walks right by you as if oblivious of you or your need. The NIV translates this, “my cause is disregarded by my God.” It’s like being stranded on the freeway and having car after car go by and ignore you and your problem.

But note how they address God as “the Lord.” How ironical! Please note that the people were referring to God as “the Lord” and as “My God.” Lord is YAHWEH, a term which implies some understanding of the nature of God. This is a special name by which God had revealed Himself to Israel. It represented special love, revelation, and redemption for the nation.

This would suggest to me that while the problem could be partially a matter of ignorance of God’s divine essence, it was primarily a matter of a wrong focus and the resultant hardening that began to occur over time as they became bitter and frustrated over their circumstances through unfocused hearts or foggy perceptions about God. The end result was self-pity and a spirit of demandingness.

When we fail to take into account the nature of this world as fallen and our need of the disciplining work of God to train us in righteousness, we tend to see pleasant circumstances as the primary blessing of God and our due as God’s children. And we see the opposite as the lack of God’s love and an injustice. “What did I do to deserve this?”

Remember what happened to Job? He lost everything. His life went from bad to worse to horrible. If ever a man’s life did not support the gospel of health, wealth, and happiness, it was Job’s. He became an impoverished, diseased man whose wife even told him to curse God and die. Yet, Job clung tenaciously to the Lord. In Job 1:21-22 he said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” 22 Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.

In Job’s initial response to tragedy, there is no hint of a demanding spirit of complaint and bitter self-pity. But with time, something began to take place in Job’s heart and thinking that was not good and that led to God’s stern rebuke. Job developed a demanding spirit which gradually replaced trust and submission to God’s wisdom, sovereign authority, and love. Instead of submission, he developed a spirit of insubordination, frustration, and self-centered solutions that demanded relief or life as he thought he deserved it. Note the following passages (Job 9:3f; 10:1-3; 13:3, 15; 16:7-9 [Note Job’s perception of God here; not a loving friend, but a cruel enemy]; 19:7f; 23:1-10).

Job 23:10b, “When he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold” is often quoted or referred to as a statement of faith, expressing Job’s confidence in the purifying effect of his trials. But such a view does not really fit the context. Referring to verse 10b, Ryrie writes, “the last part of the verse does not refer to the refining effect of suffering, but to his innocence. When the ‘Assayer’ tries him, He will find not secret dross cleverly concealed from men (as his friends charged), but gold.”7

In the immediate aftermath of difficult times, we manage to mobilize our resources and cling to God as we press on. But I wonder if the strength to deal with tough times is sometimes supported by a quiet but strong hope that a good response from us will bring a quicker end to our trials and a return to better times.8

The thought is either “God, I’ve learned my lesson, so now let’s put things back where they were,” or “God, I know I am not perfect, but I have been following your principles, and you have promised to bless me for it.” Compare Job 31:1-4 and Job’s declaration of his righteous behavior and thus, the justice due to him.

It seems to be that the longer we must wait for hoped-for relief, the greater the struggle becomes to trust God’s goodness and wisdom. Much of what looks like trust may reflect little more than the confident expectation of restored blessing which eventually settles into a spirit of demandingness with God.9

This is the way we are as sinful people.

We demand that spouses respond to our needs; we demand that our children exhibit the fruit of our godly training; we demand that our churches be sensitive to our concerns by providing certain ministries; we demand that slow drivers get out of the passing lane; we demand that no one hurt us again the way we were hurt before; we demand that legitimate pleasures, long denied, be ours to enjoy.10

One can’t read Numbers 9:15-23 without being impressed with the fact of God’s sovereign authority over our lives. The children moved at God’s command, not when they felt like it, or were ready to move on. The creature does not give orders to the Creator, nor the slave to the master, nor the child to the parent.

Note how God answered Job’s demanding spirit in Job 38:1-4:

Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.” (NIV)

There is here no gentle voice to soothe Job’s anguish, no warm invitation to still his troubled heart … When a suffering saint pours out the sorrow of his soul, our Lord reveals Himself as his Great High Priest, a caring Advocate who is touched by his struggles. But when that sorrow has been twisted into a bitter spirit of demandingness, his lament is met by the steely glare of a surgeon, ready to cut out the disease with a glistening scalpel. God thunders out the challenge: “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.”11

    The second set of questions (vs. 28)

“Do you not know? Have you not heard?” These questions suggest that not only was their knowledge inadequate and shallow, but it was inadequate because they had failed to truly listen to the Word either because of their absence or because religious externalism had led to closed and hardened hearts (cf. Isa. 29:13).

Note the following principles:

(1) Spending quality time hearing and studying the Word is just as important to promote careful application of the Scripture and facts about God that we know, as it is for learning new truth.

(2) But, obviously, quality time in the Word is not just a matter of being present at church or of having a daily time in the Word. We must have ears to hear. This means a conscious, determined commitment to apply and relate our lives to the Word (see Mark 6:30-52 and note the closing verse).

How do we handle our frustration with the problems in life and this demanding spirit that so often attacks us? There can be no real comfort in the midst of a spirit that questions God’s justice and love. We must learn to wait on the Lord, but first, we must learn what waiting on the Lord means.

Isaiah now calls on us to “wait on the Lord.” Here we will learn several important lessons and what it means to wait on the Lord.

Promises Concerning God’s Person and Provision (vss. 28b-31)

The promise of these verses is for those who wait on the Lord. These are the ones who will find new strength to carry them through the trials of life. Remember that our word “comfort” comes from the Latin cum fortes, “to give strength.” As our Comforter, God gives us new strength when we learn to wait on Him.

Let’s note the emphasis of these verses.

(1) We must learn to rest in God’s Sovereignty: we must know who is in charge, “The Everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth” (40:28b).

(2) We must learn to rest in God’s Omnipotence: our problems are never the result of God’s weakness, He “does not become weary or tired” (40:28b).

(3) We must learn to rest in the fact of God’s Omniscience: we must know God knows what He is doing, “His understanding is inscrutable” (40:28c).

(4) We must learn to rest in God’s Love and Care: we must know God cares and wants to strengthen us, “He gives (a habitual practice of God) strength to the weary, …” (40:29).

(5) We must learn to wait on the Lord: we must know what waiting on the Lord means (40:30-31).

“Those who wait” is a participle of continual action. It refers to one who is characterized by waiting. “Wait” is the Hebrew qawah, which means “to trust, hope, or have confidence in.” Originally qawah meant “to twist, bind.” It was used of the twisting process employed in the making of a rope, which of course, produces an instrument or a tool that is strong and capable of holding a heavy weight.

Those who wait in true faith are renewed in strength so that they can continue to serve the Lord while looking for his saving work knowing that there will come a time when all that God has promised will be realized and fulfilled. In the meantime the believer who waits survives by counting on God’s goodness, love, and wisdom. Remember, we are instruments of God, earthly vessels that He uses to carry out His purposes. Focusing on our God and the many truths of the Word is like weaving and twisting threads into a rope; it develops courage, strength, and endurance. The result? We are formed into an instrument that can be used to the Glory of God for which we were created and redeemed.

So God calls us to live by faith in His Word, in His sovereign purposes, and in His majestic being. Though His ways and thoughts transcend ours, He calls us to comfort one another as we face the difficulties of life with the challenge, “behold your God, your God reigns!

Is beholding God practical? Absolutely!

(1) It replaces our weakness with His strength and that is practical. Isaiah promises, “We will gain new strength.”

(2) It lifts us out of despair and allows us to soar above the pressures of life. Isaiah promises, “we will mount up with wings like eagles.” This means we can soar above the reproaches and pains of this life by hope.

(3) It gives endurance and turns us into endurance runners so Isaiah promises, “we will run and not get tired.”

Daniel 11:32b teaches us, “but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.” In other words, they will do great things. We have two choices open to us:

  • We can choose despair as we choose to lean on our own understanding and then turn to our own devices for deliverance, or
  • We can choose the comfort of God as we learn to behold Him, trust in Him, and act on His promises.

Which choice will it be?


1 The Theological Word Book of the Old Testament, Vol. II, R. Laird Harris, editor, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., associate editor, Bruce K. Waltke, associate editor, Moody Press, Chicago, 1980, p. 570.

2 T. O. Lambdin, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew, Scribner and Sons, p. 81.

3 Merrill F. Unger, Ungers Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. II, Moody Press, Chicago, 1981, p. 1250.

4 Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, Assurance Publishers, Rockville, MD, 1983, p. 549.

5 Tan, p. 1511.

6 Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah, Vol. 3, Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, 1971, p. 64.

7 Charles C. Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition, NASB, Moody Press, Chicago, 1995, p. 805.

8 Larry Crabb, Inside Out, Navpress, Colorado Springs, CO, 1988, p. 138.

9 Ibid, p. 138.

10 Ibid., p. 133.

11 Ibid., p. 146.

Related Topics: Theology Proper (God), Comfort

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